Chris Chittell

Christopher John Chittell BEM (born 19 May 1948) is an English actor, known for his role as Eric Pollard in the ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, since 1986, making him the longest-serving cast member in the soap's history.[1]

Chris Chittell BEM
Born	Christopher John Chittell 19 May 1948 Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–present
Known for	Role of Eric Pollard in Emmerdale (1986–)
Spouse(s)	Caroline Hunt ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 2005)​ Lesley Dunlop ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	2

Early life and career

Chittell was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. His father served in the Indian Army, and on leaving school Chittell intended to join the Royal Navy, but instead, he became a model.[2] His first acting stint was in 1964, with the National Theatre, at Chichester Festival Theatre, in Peter Shaffer's The Royal Hunt of the Sun.[3] He appeared as Potter in the 1967 film To Sir, with Love.[4] In 1968 he appeared as a Trooper in The Charge of the Light Brigade, and made an uncredited appearance in If.... .[5] This was followed by a starring role as one of the Freewheelers, made as an action/adventure children's serial by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973.[6] He also acted for two seasons in the 1970s science fiction TV drama The Tomorrow People.[7][8] His other film appearances included roles in The Beast in the Cellar (1970), The Weekend Murders (1971), The Raging Moon (1971), The Last Valley (1971), Erotic Inferno (1975), Golden Rendezvous (1977), Zulu Dawn (1979) and Game for Vultures (1979).[5] He also appeared in a number of Swedish sex films in the 1970s including Swedish Sex Games (aka The Intruders and Let Us Play Sex) in 1975 (which also featured a young Stellan Skarsgård).

He performed on stage at the Old Vic in Macbeth with Peter O'Toole.[2][9] In 1972, Chittell appeared in the untransmitted Doomwatch episode "Sex and Violence", playing Dick Burns, widely believed to be a parody of Cliff Richard and Richard's part in the Nationwide Festival of Light.[10] The "Sex and Violence" episode was included as part of the Doomwatch DVD box set release in April 2016.[11]

Chittell is married to his Emmerdale co-star Lesley Dunlop, who plays Brenda Walker. He was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.[12]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	To Sir, with Love	Potter
1968	The Charge of the Light Brigade	Trooper
1968	If....	Senior	Uncredited
1970	The Breaking of Bumbo	The Prisoner
1970	The Weekend Murders	Georgie Kemple
1971	The Raging Moon	Terry
1971	The Last Valley	Svenson
1971	The Beast in the Cellar	Baker
1971	They Call Him Cemetery	John McIntire
1974	The Intruders	Richard
1974	Man About The House	Alan
1975	Erotic Inferno	Martin Barnard
1977	Molly	Peter
1977	Ta mej i dalen	Richard
1977	Golden Rendezvous	Rogers
1978	The Wild Geese	Philips	Uncredited
1979	Zulu Dawn	Lt. Milne
1979	Game for Vultures	McAllister
1984	Tucker's Luck	Junior	Recurring role
1986–present	Emmerdale	Eric Pollard	Series regular
2016	Doomwatch	Dick Burns	1 episode

References

1. "Emmerdale actor Richard Thorp dies". BBC News. 22 May 2013.
2. Hayward, Anthony The Emmerdale Companion Published by Orion Publishing Co. (1997) ISBN 0-7528-1043-X
3. "Christopher Chittell | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
4. "To Sir, with Love – review | cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times.
5. "Christopher Chittell". BFI.
6. "Chris Chittell". www.aveleyman.com.
7. "A Rift in Time[11/03/74] (1974)". BFI.
8. "Secret Weapon[19/03/75] (1975)". BFI.
9. Archived 20 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Chittell on the Emmerdale website
10. "Sex and Violence (1972)". BFI.
11. "Doomwatch box set review: vintage 70s apocalypse drama still has the power to chill". the Guardian. 7 April 2016.
12. "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B25.

External links

• Chris Chittell at IMDb