David Metcalfe
Encyclopedia
David Eric Metcalfe is a fictional character
in the British ITV
soap opera Emmerdale
. He is played by Matthew Wolfenden
. He is the illegitimate son of Eric Pollard
and Lydia Holloway. Eric knew nothing of David until he turned up in the village.
David arrived in late 2006 and immediately turned the ladies' heads. He had come to the village to find his biological father, Eric Pollard
. Eric had left David's mother before David was born and had also stolen £20,000 from her.
Before revealing his identity, he got a job at the factory, attempting to find out more about his mystery father. He also struck up a flirty friendship with fun-loving Del
and hoped some romance would come of it. David was disappointed when Del mistakenly thought her uncle Zak
was his father and distanced herself. The truth then came out, and Eric was stunned to discover that David was claiming to be his son.
Eric and David's relationship didn't start well. David told Eric how Lydia struggled financially and then when she married his adoptive father, Mr. Metcalfe, he treated David like dirt. Eric didn't seem to care about what David had been through and also implied David's mother had had loose morals. Not surprisingly, David hit him and Eric was determined to prove David was lying. He conducted a secret DNA test which showed David wasn't his son but Eric hadn't sent David's cup. A 2nd test confirmed Eric was David's biological father.
He showed the village he was his father's son by evicting local businessman Rodney Blackstock
from a barn he had rented from Eric. He also struck up a love/hate relationship with Jasmine Thomas
.
David and Del were getting on well, despite Eric's disapproval. David told Del about the money Eric had stolen from his late mother. David was working on a plan to get the money back but Eric realised money was going missing. He set up a secret camera to watch who used the office and was devastated when he realised what David was doing. He confronted him and David admitted it and told him why. Eric apologised and they went into business together, burying the hatchet permanently.
Unfortunately there was a slight problem - Delilah. Her cousin Chas Dingle
was a barmaid at the Woolpack and returning one night, saw David with Katie Sugden
. Katie lived above the Woolpack and when challenged by Chas, confessed she and David had had a one night stand. Chas told Del, who also confronted Katie and realised Katie was telling the truth. Del's revenge was to transfer the money David had taken from Eric into an account in her name and run off to South America with it.
David's next relationship with part-time local reporter, Jasmine. They dated very happily for a while until Jasmine found out that Eric was swindling local pensioner Pearl Ladderbanks
while pretending to be her friend and that David knew. Jasmine told Pearl and used her charms on David to get him to buy her a car which she also gave to Pearl.
Things were quiet for a while until Mrs De Souza came to the village. Jasmine remembered her as Nicola Blackstock, Rodney's trouble-making daughter. Nicola claimed she'd changed but Jasmine didn't believe her and was soon proved right when Nicola lured David into having an affair with her. Jasmine's revenge was an article about Nicola's husband, Donald De Souza, in the local paper and to get Miles, Nicola's stepson, on the wagon so he could inherit the family business.
David and Nicola's relationship was very up and down, due to Nicola's behaviour. After Donald regained consciousness and came home from hospital, Nicola, Donald and Miles tried living together as a family at Holdgate Farm. When Donald found out Nicola was sleeping with David, he hired actress Cindy Burton, telling Nicola she was his nurse to make her jealous. This didn't work because Nicola decided to frame Cindy for Donald's murder so she would inherit his money. Nicola tried numerous methods from torn carpet on the stairs to faulty wiring on a train set but none worked. Again, Donald found out what Nicola was planning. Donald persuaded Nicola to go with him up on the moors and challenged her to push him over but she couldn't do it. On their return to Holdgate Farm, Donald threw Nicola out. She went to David but he sent her away, not wanting to be with a woman capable of murder.
Not wanting to be alone, David tried flirting with Katie. Unfortunately for him, she was with Grayson Sinclair and also pregnant with his baby. Despite having had a fight with Grayson, she turned David down.
Undeterred, David tried flirting with Jasmine again. She had a few drinks with him in the Woolpack but knocked him back when he tried taking things further. David got nasty but Miles, (who Jasmine was now attached to), escorted him out of the pub and made sure David realised it was best to stay away from her.
In June 2008, Val's daughter Sharon Lambert returned to the village briefly for her mother's wedding. While in the village, David caught Sharon's eye and snogged him after the wedding. He only saw the relationship as a fun time, but she constantly called and texted him and helped get him business contacts.
One of her friends had a dog she couldn't take on an overseas trip. Nicola, Sharon's rival, offered to dogsit. A few days later, the dogs went missing and David and Nicola found one in the B&B where Sharon was staying. They overheard Sharon telling a friend that she didn't care about David and was only staying until time for another big party with the rich and famous. At the Woolpack, Nicola informed Sharon that David had dumped her for Nicola. They got into a catfight and when David broke them up, she hit him over the head with a tray.
Val, furious that Sharon had reneged on her offer to take her to the next big party, washed her hands of Sharon again. Sharon said she wanted nothing to do with any of them and left.
Nicola and David continued to date throughout 2008, but near the end of the year, the relationship began to unravel when they learned the church was going to be sold. Seeing an opportunity to make a good profit, David worked with his father Eric to get the church, while Nicola worked to sabotage efforts to keep the church from being sold. Unfortunately for David, Nicola resented Eric's involvement, and began to bask in the new respect that her old friends and family had for her, and she began making genuine efforts to help the choir win a local competition. When David and Eric learned of her true motives, they exposed her at the competition, and David dumped her.
David became attracted to Leyla Harding
, who worked at Eric's factory. When he helped catch a burglar, Leyla agreed to go out with him. They got on well, until she felt he had little interest in what she wanted. When she told him she wasn't like Nicola, he said that was part of the problem.
They went their separate ways for a few months, but in April 2009, grew closer. She confided in him about her mother's medical problems, and he gave her some money. Eric and Val managed to convince David that Leyla was lying to get his money. David was reluctant to believe them, but when he asked Leyla a few questions, she was disgusted and dumped him.
Annoyed with his father, David decided to find someone to run for Eric's Council seat. Former Councilman Alan Turner
suggested David run. David was unsure, but when Eric mocked him about the idea, David decided to go for it.
in order to get a barn conversion for Declan Macey
. Nathan set David up by getting a female friend of his to make a pass at David as it was being recorded on video. Nathan used the tape to blackmail David and also promised to ruin Eric's business, if David didn't give him what he wanted, he offered to pay the deposit on a house for David and Leyla, if David got him planning permission for the barn. David agreed and subsequently got a home for him and Leyla. His girlfriend Leyla Harding
later found the tape when her and David were doing up the house and believed he was having an affair, he managed to convince her that it was a setup and they reconciled.
In August 2010, David found out about Leyla's secret son Jacob Gallagher and this almost tore them apart, Leyla promised there was no more secrets and they reconciled but another secret came out when Leyla revealed that her sisters husband Justin Gallagher was, in fact, Jacob's biological Father. Leyla and David pulled together when Jacob went missing and Leyla tried to convince David she loved him, but he hated that she had lied to him and moved out of the house and into the B&B with his Father and Stepmother.
Leyla and David have since reconciled, when they decided that they couldn't bare to be apart.
David's recently adopted sister Amy Wyatt
takes a shine to David. He gives out impressions that he likes her, he also says that he "Really likes" her to her face when she is upset. Amy begins to try to make him jealous by sleeping with Cain Dingle
and she calls Cain a sophisticated older man. David worries about her the most. David also shows much more concern about Amy and sticks up for her when Leyla Harding
accuses her Amy of stealing £500 worth of stock from the shop because she thinks that Amy also stole £25 from Eric Pollard
and Val Lambert's B&B 'The Grange'. Alicia Gallagher, Leyla's sister confesses to stealing from the shop. Amy Wyatt
then kisses David Metcalfe on the cheek when he says he believed it wasn't her.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the British ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
. He is played by Matthew Wolfenden
Matthew Wolfenden (actor)
Matthew Wolfenden from Norwood Green, Halifax, West Yorkshire is an English actor.Wolfenden attended Brighouse High School.He is a former gymnast who was a member of the British gymnastics squad until he fell whilst practising on the rings and damaged his back...
. He is the illegitimate son of Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
2006–09
David is the son of Eric PollardEric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
and Lydia Holloway. Eric knew nothing of David until he turned up in the village.
David arrived in late 2006 and immediately turned the ladies' heads. He had come to the village to find his biological father, Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
. Eric had left David's mother before David was born and had also stolen £20,000 from her.
Before revealing his identity, he got a job at the factory, attempting to find out more about his mystery father. He also struck up a flirty friendship with fun-loving Del
Del Dingle
Delilah "Del" Dingle, played by Hayley Tamaddon, sped into Emmerdale in July 2005 in a flash red sports car, wearing a wedding dress and refusing to explain why she was there...
and hoped some romance would come of it. David was disappointed when Del mistakenly thought her uncle Zak
Zak Dingle
Zachariah Bartholomew "Zak" Dingle is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Steve Halliwell. He first appeared on 20 October 1994 and has remained since except for a brief break from 2002-2003. On his time in the show he has been involved in a testicular cancer...
was his father and distanced herself. The truth then came out, and Eric was stunned to discover that David was claiming to be his son.
Eric and David's relationship didn't start well. David told Eric how Lydia struggled financially and then when she married his adoptive father, Mr. Metcalfe, he treated David like dirt. Eric didn't seem to care about what David had been through and also implied David's mother had had loose morals. Not surprisingly, David hit him and Eric was determined to prove David was lying. He conducted a secret DNA test which showed David wasn't his son but Eric hadn't sent David's cup. A 2nd test confirmed Eric was David's biological father.
Rodney Blackstock
Rodney Blackstock is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Patrick Mower.-2000–:When Rodney Blackstock turned up in Emmerdale, no one was more surprised to see him than his ex-wife Diane...
from a barn he had rented from Eric. He also struck up a love/hate relationship with Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.-Storylines:Jasmine arrived in Emmerdale on 30 June 2005. Sent to the village by her parents during her holidays from boarding school, she stayed with her uncle Ashley Thomas, the...
.
David and Del were getting on well, despite Eric's disapproval. David told Del about the money Eric had stolen from his late mother. David was working on a plan to get the money back but Eric realised money was going missing. He set up a secret camera to watch who used the office and was devastated when he realised what David was doing. He confronted him and David admitted it and told him why. Eric apologised and they went into business together, burying the hatchet permanently.
Unfortunately there was a slight problem - Delilah. Her cousin Chas Dingle
Chas Dingle
Chastity "Chas" Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lucy Pargeter.-Storylines:...
was a barmaid at the Woolpack and returning one night, saw David with Katie Sugden
Katie Sugden
Katherine "Katie" Sugden is a fictional character in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, and is played by Sammy Winward. She originally appeared between 2001 and 2005 and returned in 2006 and has remained in the show since.-Casting:...
. Katie lived above the Woolpack and when challenged by Chas, confessed she and David had had a one night stand. Chas told Del, who also confronted Katie and realised Katie was telling the truth. Del's revenge was to transfer the money David had taken from Eric into an account in her name and run off to South America with it.
David's next relationship with part-time local reporter, Jasmine. They dated very happily for a while until Jasmine found out that Eric was swindling local pensioner Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Meg Johnson. She first appeared on the show during the episode airing on 30 July 2003.-2003–07:...
while pretending to be her friend and that David knew. Jasmine told Pearl and used her charms on David to get him to buy her a car which she also gave to Pearl.
Things were quiet for a while until Mrs De Souza came to the village. Jasmine remembered her as Nicola Blackstock, Rodney's trouble-making daughter. Nicola claimed she'd changed but Jasmine didn't believe her and was soon proved right when Nicola lured David into having an affair with her. Jasmine's revenge was an article about Nicola's husband, Donald De Souza, in the local paper and to get Miles, Nicola's stepson, on the wagon so he could inherit the family business.
David and Nicola's relationship was very up and down, due to Nicola's behaviour. After Donald regained consciousness and came home from hospital, Nicola, Donald and Miles tried living together as a family at Holdgate Farm. When Donald found out Nicola was sleeping with David, he hired actress Cindy Burton, telling Nicola she was his nurse to make her jealous. This didn't work because Nicola decided to frame Cindy for Donald's murder so she would inherit his money. Nicola tried numerous methods from torn carpet on the stairs to faulty wiring on a train set but none worked. Again, Donald found out what Nicola was planning. Donald persuaded Nicola to go with him up on the moors and challenged her to push him over but she couldn't do it. On their return to Holdgate Farm, Donald threw Nicola out. She went to David but he sent her away, not wanting to be with a woman capable of murder.
Not wanting to be alone, David tried flirting with Katie. Unfortunately for him, she was with Grayson Sinclair and also pregnant with his baby. Despite having had a fight with Grayson, she turned David down.
Undeterred, David tried flirting with Jasmine again. She had a few drinks with him in the Woolpack but knocked him back when he tried taking things further. David got nasty but Miles, (who Jasmine was now attached to), escorted him out of the pub and made sure David realised it was best to stay away from her.
In June 2008, Val's daughter Sharon Lambert returned to the village briefly for her mother's wedding. While in the village, David caught Sharon's eye and snogged him after the wedding. He only saw the relationship as a fun time, but she constantly called and texted him and helped get him business contacts.
One of her friends had a dog she couldn't take on an overseas trip. Nicola, Sharon's rival, offered to dogsit. A few days later, the dogs went missing and David and Nicola found one in the B&B where Sharon was staying. They overheard Sharon telling a friend that she didn't care about David and was only staying until time for another big party with the rich and famous. At the Woolpack, Nicola informed Sharon that David had dumped her for Nicola. They got into a catfight and when David broke them up, she hit him over the head with a tray.
Val, furious that Sharon had reneged on her offer to take her to the next big party, washed her hands of Sharon again. Sharon said she wanted nothing to do with any of them and left.
Nicola and David continued to date throughout 2008, but near the end of the year, the relationship began to unravel when they learned the church was going to be sold. Seeing an opportunity to make a good profit, David worked with his father Eric to get the church, while Nicola worked to sabotage efforts to keep the church from being sold. Unfortunately for David, Nicola resented Eric's involvement, and began to bask in the new respect that her old friends and family had for her, and she began making genuine efforts to help the choir win a local competition. When David and Eric learned of her true motives, they exposed her at the competition, and David dumped her.
David became attracted to Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner...
, who worked at Eric's factory. When he helped catch a burglar, Leyla agreed to go out with him. They got on well, until she felt he had little interest in what she wanted. When she told him she wasn't like Nicola, he said that was part of the problem.
They went their separate ways for a few months, but in April 2009, grew closer. She confided in him about her mother's medical problems, and he gave her some money. Eric and Val managed to convince David that Leyla was lying to get his money. David was reluctant to believe them, but when he asked Leyla a few questions, she was disgusted and dumped him.
Annoyed with his father, David decided to find someone to run for Eric's Council seat. Former Councilman Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
suggested David run. David was unsure, but when Eric mocked him about the idea, David decided to go for it.
2010—
In June 2010 David was blackmailed by Nathan WyldeNathan Wylde
Nathan Wylde is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lyndon Ogbourne. He made his first on-screen appearance on 17 February 2009.-Character creation and casting:...
in order to get a barn conversion for Declan Macey
Declan Macey
Declan Macey is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale, introduced in an episode that aired on the 15 April 2010. He is portrayed by Jason Merrells.-Creation:...
. Nathan set David up by getting a female friend of his to make a pass at David as it was being recorded on video. Nathan used the tape to blackmail David and also promised to ruin Eric's business, if David didn't give him what he wanted, he offered to pay the deposit on a house for David and Leyla, if David got him planning permission for the barn. David agreed and subsequently got a home for him and Leyla. His girlfriend Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner...
later found the tape when her and David were doing up the house and believed he was having an affair, he managed to convince her that it was a setup and they reconciled.
In August 2010, David found out about Leyla's secret son Jacob Gallagher and this almost tore them apart, Leyla promised there was no more secrets and they reconciled but another secret came out when Leyla revealed that her sisters husband Justin Gallagher was, in fact, Jacob's biological Father. Leyla and David pulled together when Jacob went missing and Leyla tried to convince David she loved him, but he hated that she had lied to him and moved out of the house and into the B&B with his Father and Stepmother.
Leyla and David have since reconciled, when they decided that they couldn't bare to be apart.
David's recently adopted sister Amy Wyatt
Amy Wyatt
Amy Wyatt is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Chelsea Halfpenny. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 8 October 2010. Since her inception Amy has been central to main storylines and has been played as the serial's rebellious teenager. Halfpenny...
takes a shine to David. He gives out impressions that he likes her, he also says that he "Really likes" her to her face when she is upset. Amy begins to try to make him jealous by sleeping with Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Jeff Hordley.-Character creation:In 2000 series producer Kieran Roberts introduced three new members of the Dingle family. The new characters were introduced to the regular cast in 2000, who first arrived...
and she calls Cain a sophisticated older man. David worries about her the most. David also shows much more concern about Amy and sticks up for her when Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner...
accuses her Amy of stealing £500 worth of stock from the shop because she thinks that Amy also stole £25 from Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
and Val Lambert's B&B 'The Grange'. Alicia Gallagher, Leyla's sister confesses to stealing from the shop. Amy Wyatt
Amy Wyatt
Amy Wyatt is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Chelsea Halfpenny. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 8 October 2010. Since her inception Amy has been central to main storylines and has been played as the serial's rebellious teenager. Halfpenny...
then kisses David Metcalfe on the cheek when he says he believed it wasn't her.
External links
- David Metcalfe at itv.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...