List of Emmerdale characters (1997)
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera Emmerdale in 1997, by order of first appearance.
Barbara Strickland
| Barbara Strickland | |
|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |
| Portrayed by | Alex Hall |
| Duration | 1997, 1999, 2001 |
| First appearance | 1997 |
| Last appearance | 11 September 2001 |
| Introduced by |
Mervyn Watson (1997) Kieran Roberts (1999) Steve Frost (2001) |
| Classification | Former; recurring |
| Profile | |
| Occupation | Headmistress |
Barbara Strickland (also credited as Miss Strickland or Jean Strickland) was the headmistress of Hotten Comprehensive School. She appeared in 1997, 1999 and 2001, when she is killed in a hit-and-run accident on 10 September 2001. The occupants of the car include some of her pupils: Katie Addyman (Sammy Winward), Eve Birch (Raine Davison), Marc (Anthony Lewis) and Ollie Reynolds (Vicky Binns), Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) and Robert Sugden (Karl Davies) and Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth). The driver, Marc Reynolds, is later sentenced to twelve months in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.[1]
Note: Although usually referred to by her formal title, the character was addressed by the first name Jean in some early appearances. However, when the character was killed off, she was referred to as Barbara during the police investigation and in her funeral service.
Paddy Kirk
Dee Pollard
| Dee De Pollard | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||
| Portrayed by | Claudia Malkovich | ||||
| Duration | 1997-98 | ||||
| First appearance | 13 February 1997 | ||||
| Last appearance | 7 April 1998 | ||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
| Profile | |||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||
| |||||
Dee Pollard (née de La Cruz) was the former wife of Eric Pollard and she appeared from February 1997 until April 1998.
Eric Pollard flew to the Far East looking for love and found it with Filipino student Dee de la Cruz in a Manila restaurant. His initial interest was sex, but two weeks later he proposed and the couple made plans for Dee to follow Eric back to Britain. When she arrived in 1997, dressed in a miniskirt and skimpy coat, and wearing high-heels, the locals in Emmerdale were curious. They were shocked when she announced that she was Eric's fiancee. But the unlikely relationship continued and Dee became Mrs Pollard in a May registry-office wedding. Dee left Emmerdale in April 1998 and in 2001, her marriage with Eric was annulled.
Will Cairns
| Will Cairns | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Paul Fox | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1997-99 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 February 1997 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 27 January 1999 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Will Cairns arrived in Emmerdale in February 1997 with his family as the second child and only son of Tony and Becky Cairns. One of his main storylines was when he was kidnapped by, Fiona Mallender, the daughter of a soldier his father had served with who wanted to avenge her father's death on a training exercise, which she blamed Tony for. Will left the village in January 1999, joining the rest of his family in Germany after his father was injured in a climbing accident.
Emma Cairns
| Emma Cairns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Rebecca Loudonsack | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1997-98 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 February 1997 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||||||||||
| Home | Germany | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Emma Cairns arrived in Emmerdale in February 1997 with her family as the youngest child and daughter of Tony and Becky Cairns, heavily pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter Geri a month later. Her father Tony wanted her to have Geri adopted and Emma initially agreed. However, she changed her mind when she bonded with her baby daughter but this didn't last. Gradually, Becky found herself looking after Geri more and more and so Geri was put up for adoption after all.
The father was later revealed to be Greg Cox, the ex-boyfriend of her sister Charlie. This led to Charlie leaving, only a few months after arriving. Her parents left for Germany in April 1998, with Emma joining them in the autumn.
Tony Cairns
| Tony Cairns | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Edward Peel | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1997-98 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 February 1997 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1 April 1998 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Home | Germany | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Tony Cairns arrived in Emmerdale in February 1997 with his family after retiring early from the army. When his youngest daughter Emma gave birth to a baby girl who she named Geri at the young age of 13, Tony wanted her to have Geri adopted, to which Emma initially went along with. However, she defied her father and changed her mind when she grew close to her baby daughter. Tony left with Becky for Germany in April 1998. Actor, Edward Peel, had previously appeared in Emmerdale as the second actor to play Tom Merrick in the early 1980s.
Becky Cairns
| Becky Cairns | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Sarah Neville | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1997-98 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 February 1997 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1 April 1998 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Home | Germany | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Becky Cairns arrived in Emmerdale, where she grew up when she was young, in February 1997 with her family. Becky had a lesbian fling with vet Zoe Tate. She left with her husband Tony for Germany in April 1998.
Charlie Cairns
| Charlie Cairns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Sarah Graham | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1997 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 February 1997 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 30 July 1997 | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Charlie Cairns arrived in Emmerdale in February 1997 with her family. She is the eldest of Tony and Becky Cairns' three children. When her younger sister Emma gave birth to a baby a month later, she was devastated to learn her boyfriend, Greg Cox, was the father and this led to Charlie's departure in July.