Valerie "Val" Pollard (also Lambert) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Charlie Hardwick. She made her first screen appearance in the episodes broadcast on 1 February 2004. Val was introduced as the sister of established character Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen). She later married Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell). Hardwick took a three-month break from Emmerdale to appear in a play, and the character left on 10 February 2012. Val returned in June 2012 and was surprised to learn that Eric was in a relationship with Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop). She moved into Diane's pub, after her marriage breakdown, and helped run it while Diane was away visiting her daughter. In 2014, Val was told that she was HIV positive, after a holiday fling while she was i