Emmerdale's Marathon Men lace up

Chris Chittell and Matthew Wolfenden are best known as the duplicitous Pollard and David in Emmerdale, but next weekend they'll help each other run the London Marathon. For Chris, who plays Eric Pollard, it will be his 11th London Marathon; for Matthew, who plays his son David, it will be his first. "I always look forward to it. This will be my 11th and I've also run two in New York," Chris told Soaplife magazine. "This will be my last. I'm 58 and my knees have gone - although to be honest they 'went' 10 years ago!" Matthew said: "This is my first! I've always kept myself relatively fit - I was a gymnast as a kid - but this is in a different league altogether." Chris won't have much sympathy if his on-screen son struggles. "Matthew's 26 so he's got more than 30 years on me! "We'll start off together but everyone goes at their own pace. Last year I did it i just over four hours; this year I'm looking at something under four hours." Chris said he'll be playing a father twice over in the marathon - his real-life son Ben, 24, is running for the first time. Matthew is dreading hitting 'the wall', but promises they'll have fun whatever the outcome. "Chris is a real showman. He can run, sing to the crowd and do star-jumps all at once."