It’s hard to believe Kim Tate (Claire King) in Emmerdale has been on our screens since 1989.

Setting aside the breaks Kim has had from the village over the years (everyone needs time away from the Dales at some point), this iconic character has become a soap staple and yes, she will absolutely need more than one chapter to cover everything she’s been through in the Emmerdale history book!

As we gear up to celebrate 50 years of the wonderful soap, Claire King has been speaking about playing Kim Tate for all these years, what’s changed and her most memorable scene and honestly? We think you can guess it.

Can you tell us about your first day on set? Who did you do your first scene with?

My first day on set was back in 1989 and my first scene was with Stan Richards. I was riding a horse and it was the entry of Zoe and Kim introducing them to the Tate family. The boys had already been in and we were having a race across country on horseback. I come across a character called Seth Armstrong and my first line was “can you tell me the quickest way to Home Farm please”. As Stan turned round he moved his bike which spooked the horse. It reared up and I
managed to pull the reins round to stop the horse coming down on top of Stan. Ever since then he would say my very first day on set was the day I saved his life.

What is your most memorable scene?

It has to be the one where Frank dies and Kim checks his breath. She’s withholding his heart tablets and she checks his breath with her compact mirror and once she knows he’s dead she checks her make-up. It is as camp as Christmas but it is one everyone seems to remember.

What has been your favourite Kim Tate storyline?

The Kim, Frank, Dave love triangle. Particularly when they get caught out and Frank comes in and asks Dave “do you call this overtime?”.

How has your character changed since the 90s?

My character has changed since the 90’s not only because it’s 20/30 years on so I look a little older but she has mellowed a little bit. This is probably due to everything she’s been through but also I think the calming effect of Will, who does stand up to her but doesn’t grate with her, which a lot of people have done in the past and this can rub her up the wrong way. Will can deal with her and that has a calming influence. She has a slightly softer heart and is more tolerant of children and a few others now.

Kim has had many lovers but who would you say has been the one love of Kim’s life?

The one true love of Kim’s life I believe was Dave Glover but that was the 90s. Now I believe because she’s mellowed Will could be the true love of her life but I don’t know whether she knows it yet. I do think they are a good match for each other and they do work. Kim still believes somewhere deep down that Jamie could be Dave’s and not Frank’s. She always swore that.

Do you have any Kim Tate souvenirs from the 90s?

I’m not allowed to say that as it’s theft! But yes I did! I took a couple of earrings and I took Kim Tate’s replacement ring also!

After such an iconic exit, how did it feel to reprise the role of Kim Tate?

It was quite scary! Coming back after 20 years things change. There’s social media and all of the pressures that come with that but also the pressure of coming back to a workplace that was doing half of the workload that they’re doing now. Emmerdale has always had a good work ethic but it is more full on.

And what about Kim’s grand entrance?

It was a grand entrance falling over a balcony into a champagne fountain and they certainly bigged up my entrance. I was very lucky I had a whole advert campaign and everything. It was over the top, great and fabulous. She’s such a great character to play and to come back and reprise it again was wonderful.

What do you love about your character?

I think the thing about Kim Tate is whether you love her or love to hate her is the fact that she’s just so blunt and straightforward and kind of honest in a twisted way because she says exactly what she wants to say and means it.

She will say it directly to people’s faces which a lot of people can’t take but somehow I think people would love to be like that in real life and say yeah your bum does look fat in that! Kim would say it but she thinks she’s doing them a favour. She doesn’t think she’s being horrible, she’s just being honest. And it’s that sort of thing that I think people would like to get away with…. She gets away with murder basically.

Favourite Emmerdale storyline you haven’t been involved in?

The plane crash is my favourite storyline. I looked back at it on the repeats and it stands up. Norman (Bowler) was amazing running around the village like superman. The whole thing stood up. There were great storylines and a sense of pace and urgency, devastation, tears but laughter and I think it was a proud moment in Emmerdale history.

What do you love most about Emmerdale?

I have known quite a few people here within not just the cast but the crew as well for many many years.

People slot in and pull as a team and make it work.

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