ERIC Pollard reveals a shocking truth in Emmerdale as his ongoing health struggles worsen.

Eric and Brenda throw an engagement party next week in Emmerdale.

ITV

ITV

Eric gives his speech announcing a honeymoon cruise, and Brenda is overjoyed.

With the engagement party in full swing, Rodney is curious as to where Eric got his new influx of wealth.

Although Eric plays wry, he suddenly panics and makes to leave with a suspicious Leyla following behind.

Having followed him home, Leyla is gobsmacked when Eric makes an admission.

This comes after Brenda was left shocked when Eric revealed his plans for a Christmas wedding.

Eric then revealed the engagement ring he bought for delighted Brenda at the auction.

However, Eric’s health seems to deteriorate dramatically.

Viewers learned that Emmerdale’s longest serving character has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, the fastest growing neurological condition in the world.

In emotional scenes, Eric tearfully confided in Mandy about how terrified he was feeling as he looked to his future.

Emmerdale has worked closely with the charity Parkinson’s UK, who will continue to support the production team to give Eric’s story a realistic and authentic depiction whilst creating awareness of the condition and how it affects those afflicted.

Last week, Eric was visibly still suffering from tremors and in shock when Caleb confronted him at the shop.

“Stay away from my depot, and wind your neck in or I will,” Caleb declares, leaving Eric visibly distressed.

His health taking a turn for the worse has left Emmerdale fans fear the character will be killed off after 38 years on the ITV soap.

Taking to X, one fan wrote: “Don’t like Eric getting bad when it’s nearly Christmas. Don’t want a Christmas death #Emmerdale.”

Most devastating soap deaths

SOAP viewers are frequently left heartbroken after watching some of their favourite characters bite the dust.

Here is a list of the most devastating deaths that have taken place in soapland over the years.

EASTENDERS

Barry Evans – Evil Janine (Charlie Brooks) lured her trusting fiance to Scotland for a quickie marriage after learning he was dying. 

Her plan to inherit Barry’s fortune was thwarted when Barry told her that the doctors had mixed up his medical files. 

Furious that she was no longer set for a windfall, she pushed Barry off a cliff after telling him their love was “fake”. 

Bradley Branning – Bradley was accused of killing Stacey Slater’s rapist Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) after he punched him twice on the night he died. 

He was spotted in the Square by a police woman who chased him up a fire escape.

Bradley lost his balance and tragically plunged to his death. 

CORONATION STREET

Tina McIntyre – Tina was getting it on with Peter Barlow – despite him being married to Carla Connor.

When she threatened to reveal the truth, Carla’s brother Rob got into a physical altercation with her.

Tina lost her footing and fell off a balcony – then warned Rob she was going to tell the cops he pushed her.

In a panic, Rob brutally clobbered her over the head with a metal pipe.

Molly Dobbs – Molly was one of the victims in Corrie’s 2010 tram crash, alongside Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold).

Married to Tyrone (Alan Halsall), Molly had been having an affair with Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) in the months before her death.

This resulted in the birth of their son, Jack (Kyran Bowes), who was named after Jack Duckworth.

As fate would have it, Kevin’s wife Sally (Sally Dynevor) was by Molly’s side in her final moments.

Sally was stunned as Molly confessed Kevin was Jack’s father, before dying of her injuries.

Vera Duckworth – Having appeared regularly in Corrie since the 1970s, there was no denying Vera Duckworth was an iconic character.

Alongside her husband Jack, the pair formed one of the soap’s most beloved couples.

Viewers were heartbroken when Vera was killed off in 2008, being discovered having passed away peacefully in her chair.

Liz Dawn, who played Vera, made a brief return two years later for Bill Tarmey’s exit as Jack.

Paul Foreman – Fans were heartbroken when Paul Foreman succumbed to his illness after battling motor neurone disease.

Introduced in 2018 as David Platt’s (Jack P. Shepherd) cellmate, he later embarked on a romance – and marriage – with vicar Billy Mayhew.

The MND storyline was announced in 2023 – with the expectation it would result in the character’s death.

EMMERDALE

Sarah Sugden – After the family got into financial problems, Sarah’s son Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) decided to make some quick cash from an insurance company by setting fire to the Sugden barn.

He didn’t realise his mum was inside the building, and she got trapped in the blaze.

Nine villagers – The shocking 1993 plane crash episode brought in 18 million viewers for Emmerdale.

Mark Hughes was killed by a falling wall, Archie Brooks was burned by jet fuel, Elizabeth Pollard was killed by debris and newcomer Leonard Kempinski died in a car crash caused by the crash. 

Five other non-recurring characters from the village also died. 

HOLLYOAKS

Carmel McQueen – The talented singer died in shocking scenes when a train crashed into a her family’s car.

Carmel managed to free her cousin Theresa from the rubble – but got stuck in it herself.

Moments later the train exploded and Carmel died in the arms of her family members, promising to be their guardian angel.

Another added: “Eric is gonna die next year #Emmerdale.”

A third penned: “Why is the grave next to Val Omg Not Eric #Emmerdale.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.

ITV

ALEXANDER ISAK was bizarrely denied a goal for Sweden after a shocking error from VAR.

The Newcastle ace was in action for his nation against Azerbaijan during a 6-0 mauling in the Uefa Nations League.

Viaplay

Rex

Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski had opened the scoring after 10 minutes before Sporting Lisbon forward Viktor Gyokeres netted a brace before the break to make it 3-0.

The ex-Coventry player soon turned provider as he picked up the ball in injury time and slipped a pass to Isak, who carried the ball down the left wing before cutting inside to shoot into the bottom left corner.

However, despite no original suggestion of offside, VAR bizarrely ruled out the goal.

The judgement was clearly incorrect when viewing a replay as Isak, 25, was well onside when Gyokeres played him the ball.

But it turned out that VAR had drawn the lines to Isak at the wrong time.

Instead, VAR had strangely drawn the lines from Isak when Gyokeres, 26, had originally picked up the move inside his OWN HALF.

The decision left fans and even reporters confused, with Siavoush Fallahi writing on social media: “I’m crying they gave an offside on Isak when the ball went to Gyokeres in the middle.”

A fan said: “Possibly the worst offside decision I’ve ever seen I still can’t work out how Isak’s goal has been ruled out.”

A second added: “They drew the line on Isak for the pass to Gyokeres.”

Another said: “We need a VAR check for VAR

Sweden went on to win the match 6-0, with Gyokeres scoring two more and Kulusevski bagging another while Isak also missed a penalty shortly after half-time.

Speaking after the game, Isak revealed he and his team-mates had been engaged in an argument with the VAR officials over the decision in the player tunnel at half-time.

According to the Sweden Herald, he said: “How is that possible? Seriously. It’s almost the worst I’ve seen.

“I’m happy, of course, that we win, but I score a goal that should be allowed, then it’s clear that you get annoyed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like this at this level when I’ve been involved.

“You’ve seen a lot of mistakes, but this one was pretty rough. The VAR referees stood in the player tunnel at halftime.

“We argued with them, but they stuck to their decision that they had made the right call.”

National team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson was just as angry, adding: “I was furious, the whole team was furious. I don’t understand it. For me, it was a goal, but we can’t change it.”

The game ensured Sweden won their Nations League C Group 1 with five wins and one draw, while Azerbaijan finished bottom of the group without a win.

Sweden are the only nation inside the top 30 ranked leagues in Europe who do not use VAR.

Having been written into IFAB rules in 2018, the Allsvenskan remains an exception by refusing to implement it.

Ola Thews, vice-chairman of Swedish giant AIK’s largest supporter organization, ASK, said of VAR in August: “VAR is a symbol of modern, commercialised-to-the-point-of-destruction football.”

Thews also believes VAR “ruins the euphoria” of scoring a goal.

In England, Premier League chiefs fear they have to go without semi-automated offside technology until next season.

Howard Webb had claimed last month that VAR was correcting 80 per cent of ref mistakes before Michael Oliver had a high-profile blunder during Manchester United’s clash at West Ham.

On-field referee David Coote had originally waved play on before being called back with Matthijs de Ligt accused of fouling Danny Ings following a coming together in the penalty area.

The decision to then award a penalty with the off-field recommendation was maligned at the time before Webb admitted it was “on balance, probably not a penalty”.

VAR: Imagine the future...

Martin Lipton’s pro VAR view

FAST forward 12 months to May 18, 2025.

After 89 minutes at Molineux, Wolves, needing to win their last game of the season to stay up, are beating Manchester United, who require a point for Champions League football.

A ball over the top sends Rasmus Hojlund racing away. The flag stays down. Hojlund scores. Wolves are relegated.

And on the way home, the dejected Wolves fans see the still image on their phones.

Hojlund was 2ft offside. No question. A shocker.
It means at least a year in the Championship, £100million income drop, a firesale of the squad. While United bank an extra £50m.

But it’s OK. Every  one of those fans, plus smiling boss Gary O’Neil and the  Wolves board, will line up to say: “No worries. It’s what we voted for. Rough with the smooth.”

Yes. And I’ve got a bridge to Ireland to sell you.

GEORGE Knight calls off his wedding after uncovering a shocking secret about Elaine Peacock in EastEnders.

It’s the day before Elaine and George’s wedding, and Johnny and The Knights eagerly prepare The Vic for a day of celebrations.

BBC

BBC

BBC

Elaine goes to see Cindy at No.45 where she pleads with her to see out a plan.

Elaine wants Cindy to set up a honey trap to see if George can be swayed and Cindy eventually accepts. 

At Junior’s, it’s not long before Cindy and George start taking a trip down memory lane, and Cindy lunges for a kiss.

Cindy reveals all about Elaine’s plan, as disbelieving George heads back to The Vic to seek answers from Elaine.

How will George react to their scheming? Will he still go through with the wedding?

At the day of George and Elaine’s wedding, both families rally around the pair in light of recent events.

But, it’s unclear whether they have said enough to make the pair say ‘I do’ once at the altar.

Meanwhile, Kojo spots Junior leaving Cindy’s place.

Desperate to keep their secret, Cindy follows him through the Square.

But things get tense as she tries to convince him to keep quiet leading to a struggle with serious consequences, where someone is left hospitalised.

The Knight family rush to the hospital as tensions run high between them.

When Cindy lies to Ian about her whereabouts, Lauren is left horrified.

Later, Lauren tells Cindy she is on to her, and vows she will make it her mission to find out what Cindy is hiding.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

Best soap affair love triangles

LOVE triangles are a fundamental part of soap-land, but which ones have become the most iconic?

EASTENDERS

Bradley/Stacey/Max: Stacey Slater began an affair with boyfriend Bradley Branning’s dad Max in 2007.

Despite their romps, Stacey still married Bradley, but their deceit came out in an iconic Christmas Day episode that year.

Grant/Sharon/Phil: Heading even further back in Walford history, EastEnders fans were gripped in the 90s as Sharon Watts had a one-night stand with her brother-in-law Phil Mitchell.

Sharon confided in best friend Michelle Fowler – not realising it was caught on tape – and her husband Grant eventually found out and played it in front of everyone at the Queen Vic.

Syed/Amira/Christian: Syed Masood was engaged to Amira before realising he had feelings for another man, Christian, which he confessed to him on his wedding day.

A devout Muslim, Syed refused to admit his true sexuality and went ahead and married Amira anyway, but when they returned, the two men started an affair before being caught in the act by Amira.

CORONATION STREET

Shelley/Peter/Lucy: Peter Barlow took the concept of a love triangle and ran with it in Coronation Street – extending it to bigamy.

He was in a relationship with Shelley Unwin but started dating Lucy Richards, and quickly married her after she fell pregnant with his son, Simon.

But it didn’t stop him also marrying Shelley, but he was eventually caught when Lucy turned up in Weatherfield and the two women confronted him.

Ken/Deidre/Mike: Back in 1982, Deirdre Barlow started sleeping with her husband’s nemesis Mike Baldwin in secret, before confessing all a year later.

When Mike turned up at the marital home, Deirdre was being throttled by her husband who then kicked her out, but years later they reconciled.

Maria/Aidan/Eva: In 2017, Aidan Connor started sleeping with girlfriend Eva Price’s best friend, Maria Connor.

Eva eventually found out and she decided to take revenge by faking a pregnancy, spending his money and planned to confront him on their wedding day.

But she had a change of heart when a remorseful Aidan confessed, and decided to marry him anyway, only for Maria to arrive and expose her fake pregnancy.

EMMERDALE

Ross/Debbie/Pete: Debbie Dingle found herself torn between two brothers, Ross and Pete Barton in 2015 in Emmerdale.

She eventually decided to marry Pete but yet again, a soap wedding day was ruined when the groom learned of his bride’s betrayal via a recording played at the wedding.

Chrissie/Robert/Aaron: Robert Sugden was married to Chrissie White and all seemed well – until he began a steamy affair with Aaron Dingle.

Robert’s ex Katie Sugden almost exposed the affair – but fell to her death before she had the chance.

However, a guilty Aaron eventually cracked and told Chrissie about the affair – after which she announced it to the whole pub.

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