David Reece is a friend of Penny Golightly. He arrived in Beckindale with Gwen Russell following an invite from Penny to stay at the Millhouse with her. David briefly helped Matt Skilbeck out on Emmerdale Farm with the milking. David had an interest in art and had drawn several paintings. Nicholas Phelps, a local businessman was interested in David's paintings. Phelps paid David's travel expenses to Wales so he could pick up more of his paintings. Phelps told David he could make him a household name, so he contacted Angus Seddon, an art critic, who came to Beckindale to see David's paintings, thinking David was talented. Upon arrival, Angus looked at the paintings and was highly critical of David's work, saying a sixth former could do better. Angus regarded David as talentless, and should try another hobby. David is devastated. Angus felt he had a wasted journey to Beckindale so quickly returned to London. This meant David's big break in the art world was in tatters. As Henry Wilks was there commenting on David's work, David felt Henry influenced Seddon's decision, as people like Seddon listen to people like Henry, so as they can then override their opinions so to let everyone else think only they can say what is good and what is not. David thinks he could have persuaded Seddon and said it was modern art.
It turned out that even if David had made it rich, Phelps wrote the contract up in such a way that he alone had the rights to all the money that David would have made from his paintings, so Jack Sugden felt that Phelps had used David to meet his own ends. Jack told David he was vulnerable so would be taken advantage of by people like Phelps and even Seddon. David said the years he has put into art has been a waste of time. David drowned his sorrows by getting drunk and wandering alone on the moors at night. He returned to the mill later on. Due to his recent disappointment, David considered moving on from Beckindale and going back to Wales. Henry Wilks bought one of David's paintings, the one of the abbey, as a memento. That night, David celebrated his birthday at the mill. David said that him and Gwen will be leaving first thing in the morning. The next morning, David and Gwen moved back to Wales, never to return to Beckindale.