Tag: Leyla Harding

David’s shop is the place to go in Emmerdale if you need a pint of milk or loaf of bread. Think of it like a convenience store, but packed full of artisan goodies and with its own personalised jute bags.

A valued local business, it’s situated on Church Lane and attached to Farrers Farm.

It was given the eponymous title from former owner, David Metcalfe, who was in charge from 2015 until his departure from the Dales in 2023.

Many of the village residents have worked behind the till of the shop, and it’s seen its fair amount of action over the years.

The history of David’s shop in Emmerdale

Back before it was a shop, the building was actually a barn. From here, Rodney Blackstock used to run his antiques business.

But that all changed when the wealthy Wylde family arrived in the village and set up residence in Home Farm.

Wyldes Home Farm Fayre

Keen to make her mark, Natasha Wylde decided to open a shop in the centre of the community, providing customers with wholesome, local produce.

The clan purchased the barn, converting it into a shop and living area and giving it the name Wyldes Home Farm Fayre (don’t even get us started on the missing apostrophe!)

Doug Potts and Leyla Harding were employed as co-managers, while Rodney was given the job of delivery driver.

The shop had only been open a matter of days when Rodney left the handbrake off his van. The vehicle crashed into the shop, trapping Doug, Leyla and Ryan Lamb inside.

But as money was no problem for the Wyldes, they just fixed the damage and reponed within days.

Leyla’s

In 2011, co-manager Leyla became the new owner of the farm shop and renamed it Leyla’s.

She bought the business with her boyfriend David Metcalfe, but their partnership – professional and romantic – wasn’t to go the distance.

The couple split the same year and Leyla sold her share to David.

David’s shop in Emmerdale

After Leyla dumped him and the Dales, David took full control of the store. Following in his predecessor’s unimaginative footsteps, David named the shop after himself!

And there he remained until June 2015 when David decided to emigrate to Portugal with then-wife Alicia Gallagher.

He sold the business to Bob Hope’s daughter, Carly, a move which turned out to be very unwise…

Carly Hope takes over

Carly’s reign over the shop was nothing short of shambolic.

She renamed the business Hope for the Best, which should have been an indication to expect the worst. Carly had absolutely zero interest in running the business and even turned up to its unveiling drunk.

And when a burst pipe wrecked all the shop’s merchandise, Carly confessed she hadn’t taken out any insurance. To cover the costs, she and local bad boy Ross Barton robbed a truck to get cash for the repairs.

Carly was eventually forced to confess everything and Brenda Walker reported her to the police.

Wanted for fraud, Carly went on the run, leaving the shop empty.

David’s return to his shop in Emmerdale

David returned and reclaimed his shop at a reduced price when it went under the hammer.

He gave the place a makeover, with a fancy deli bar, and even gave Carly a job so she could repay him.

2021 saw the arrival of the shop’s new delivery bike, which was brought in as part of a drive to be more eco-friendly.

David also brought in his stepson Jacob Gallagher and Kerry Wyatt to run things during his breaks away from the village.

Pollard takes over

In 2022, David ran into severe financial difficulty at the shop. His then-girlfriend Victoria Sugden sold off the land she had inherited from her grandmother, Annie, to bail him out.

However David just kept spending and got into even more trouble when he decided to start doing deliveries and then got a speeding ticket that would have lost him his licence.

In a bid to cover his tracks he put the ticket in Victoria’s name. When she found out she was fuming. They broke up, and David was forced to take his punishment.

Still in debt, David was eventually bailed out by his dad. Eric Pollard, who had sold the B&B to retire with Brenda and travel the world, bought David out.

Then David left town for good and Eric is saddled with running a shop he never really wanted. Tracy currently manages the place, with Jacob helping out too.

Shop wars

Leyla Harding was caught with her fingers in the till when she stole £250 to buy a pair of fancy shoes she’d had her eye on.

Nathan Wylde blackmailed her over the theft, but got his comeuppance when David discovered what he was up to.

And in 2015, David’s grand re-opening had to be pushed back when his dad Eric Pollard trashed the shop in a grief-induced rage, the damage of which took weeks to put right.

Pollard also found himself caught up in an armed robbery when two youths tried to raid David’s and ended up with a broken arm.

Births, marriages and deaths

Unsurprisingly no marriages have taken place the shop, but there have been a couple of baby dramas and near fatalities.

Nicola King went into labour with daughter Angelica while locked inside the shop, but thankfully made it to hospital in time to give birth.

And history repeated itself in 2014 when David’s ex-girlfriend Priya Sharma’s waters broke in front of his wife, Alicia.

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