Christopher John Chittell (born 19 May 1948) is an English actor, known for his role as

Eric Pollard Eric Pollard (also Pollock) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Chris Chittell. He made his first appearance in the soap on 30 September 1986. Having appeared continuously since, he is currently the lo ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

''. He has portrayed the role since 1986, making him the longest-serving cast member in the soap's history.

Biography

Early life

Chittell was born in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. His father served in the Indian Army, and on leaving school Chittell intended to join the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, but instead, he became a model. 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 ''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that dramatizes the relation of two worlds entering in a conflict by portraying two characters: Atahuallpa Inca and Francisco Pizarro. Performance history Premiere ''The Royal Hunt ...

''.

Career

He appeared as Potter in the 1967 film ''

To Sir, with Love ''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. Ja ...

''. In 1968 he appeared as a Trooper in ''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...

'', and made an uncredited appearance in '' If....'' . This was followed by a starring role as one of the ''

Freewheelers ''Freewheelers'' is a British television series made by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973 for the ITV network. It was created by the television producer Chris McMaster, who was aware of the popularity of adult action series such as '' ...

'', made as an action/adventure children's serial by

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

between 1968 and 1973. Chittal acted for two seasons in the 1970s science fiction TV drama ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...

''. His other film appearances included roles in ''

The Beast in the Cellar ''The Beast in the Cellar'' is a 1970 British horror film written and directed by James Kelley. The film was produced by Leander Films and Tigon British Film Productions, and starred Beryl Reid. Plot Soldiers stationed at a rural army base i ...

'' (1970), ''

The Weekend Murders ''The Weekend Murders'' ( it, Concerto per pistola solista, also known as ''The Story of a Crime'') is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Michele Lupo. It starred Ida Galli, Beryl Cunningham, Anna Moffo and Orchidea De Santis. Plot A family g ...

'' (1971), ''

The Raging Moon ''The Raging Moon'' (released in the US as ''Long Ago, Tomorrow'') is a 1971 British romantic drama film starring Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman and based on the book by British novelist Peter Marshall. Adapted and directed by Bryan Forbes ( ...

'' (1971), ''

The Last Valley The Last Valley may refer to: * ''The Last Valley'' (novel), an historical novel about the Thirty Years' War ** ''The Last Valley'' (film), a 1971 film adaptation of the novel directed by James Clavell {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Valley, The ...

'' (1971), '' Erotic Inferno'' (1975), ''

Golden Rendezvous ''Golden Rendezvous'' is a 1977 South African action thriller film directed by Ashley Lazarus and starring Richard Harris, Ann Turkel and David Janssen. It was based on the 1962 novel ''The Golden Rendezvous'' by Alistair MacLean. Plot The ''C ...

'' (1977), ''

Zulu Dawn ''Zulu Dawn'' is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed ...

'' (1979) and ''

Game for Vultures ''Game for Vultures'' is a 1979 British thriller film starring Richard Harris, Joan Collins and Richard Roundtree. It was directed by James Fargo and based on a novel by Michael Hartmann set during the Rhodesian Bush War. Plot During the late ...

'' (1979). 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 Stellan Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2007), ''Melancholia'' (201 ...

). He performed on stage at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' with

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

.Hayward, Anthony '' The Emmerdale Companion'' Published by Orion Publishing Co. (1997) In 1972, Chittell appeared in the untransmitted ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ...

'' episode "Sex and Violence", playing Dick Burns, widely believed to be a parody of

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and Richard's part in the

Nationwide Festival of Light The Nationwide Festival of Light was a short-lived grassroots movement formed by British Christians concerned about the rise of the permissive society and social changes in English society by the late 1960s. The movement was opposed to what ...

. The "Sex and Violence" episode was included as part of the ''Doomwatch'' DVD box set release in April 2016.

Personal life

Chittell is married to his ''

'' co-star

Lesley Dunlop Lesley Jane Dunlop (born 10 March 1956) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Norna in the ''Doctor Who'' serial "Frontios", Anna Kirkwall in '' Where the Heart Is'' and Zoë Angell in ''May to December''. Her current role is Bre ...

, who plays

Brenda Walker Brenda Walker (born 1957 in Grafton, New South Wales) is an Australian writer. She studied at the University of New England in Armidale and, after gaining a PhD in English (on the work of Samuel Beckett) at the Australian National University ...

Honours

He was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

(BEM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to drama and charity.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chittell, Chris English male soap opera actors English male film actors English male stage actors 1948 births Living people Actors from Aldershot Recipients of the British Empire Medal