During today’s episode of Emmerdale, Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) confronts Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), six years on from his apparent murder.
There are quite a few mentions of a man called Pierce Harris during these scenes and if you’re new to the show, you’re going to be sitting wondering who on earth he is.
Fear not!
Here’s everything you need to know about who Pierce Harris is, how he died, and his connection to recently returned Graham Foster.
Who was rapist Pierce Harris in Emmerdale?
Actor Jonathan Wrather played the role of Pierce from 2016-2020.
Arriving in February, Pierce was immediately thrown into a dramatic storyline when he discovered his wife, Tess, had been ran over. After Tess died, Pierce eventually started a relationship with Rhona.
Following their engagement, Pierce started showing possessive behaviour towards Rhona, which caused concern for friend Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick).
On their wedding day, Rhona was raped by Pierce and later reported him to the police.
In December 2019, Rhona discovered that Pierce was up for parole. A month later, he returned to the village and ended up killing Graham Foster.
Well, he thought he had.
In February 2020, a month after Graham’s apparent death, Pierce kidnapped Vanessa and her son Johnny. After holding them hostage for weeks, Pierce used Vanessa to call Rhona to lure her to Mulberry Cottage.
There, Rhona managed to outsmart Pierce. He confessed to Graham’s murder, while Rhona secretly filmed the whole thing. She injected Pierce with a vial strong enough to take down a bull, just before the police arrived and arrested him.
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How did Pierce Harris die?
In prison, Pierce received a cancer diagnosis and once he realised he was dying, he sent a letter to Rhona, apologising for everything and asking her to track down his son Marcus.
Rhona met with Marcus, but neither of them visited Pierce, who died in prison in 2022.
What is Pierce’s connection to Graham?
Pierce hid in the shadows as a whodunnit storyline kicked off after Graham’s body was found six years ago.
When the truth was revealed, viewers learnt that Pierce hit him over the head, and then fought Graham in the woods.
Pierce then hit Graham with his car, leading to him falling off a cliff. Surprisingly, he survived this, but Pierce delivered one final blow to the head, and covered Graham’s body in leaves after.
Scenes in today’s episode of the ITV soap confirm that Graham and a bent copper paid people to help cover his death up. As a former member of the SAS, Graham knew how to lay incredibly still when Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) found his body.
Neither of these residents checked Graham’s body for a pulse, which meant the police and forensic teams could successfully cover up the truth and allow the Emmerdale villagers to believe he had been killed.
