Description
Christopher John Chittell was born 19 May 1948, Aldershot, Hampshire and is an English actor best known for his role as Eric Pollard in ITV’s Emmerdale, a part that he has played since 1986. Since the death of Richard Thorp, he is now the longest serving cast member.
His father served in the Indian Army, and on leaving school he intended to join the Royal Navy, but instead, he became a model. His first acting stint was at age 19, appearing as Potter in the 1967 film To Sir, with Love. In 1968 he appeared as a Trooper in The Charge of the Light Brigade and made an uncredited appearance in If….. 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.
Apart from Emmerdale, his other appearances include roles in The Beast in the Cellar (1970), The Raging Moon (1971), Zulu Dawn (1979), and for two seasons in the 1970s science fiction drama The Tomorrow People.
He also played a doomed truck driver in the 1978 mercenary film The Wild Geese.
He performed on stage at the Old Vic in Macbeth with Peter O’Toole.
