Emmerdale’s Claire King on Kim Tate’s revenge ‘I fear for Rose and Ruby’

Emmerdale’s Kim Tate has always been a force to be reckoned with. Over the years, she’s committed countless crimes, from fraud, organised hitmen and even watched her first husband Frank Tate (Norman Bowler) die without calling for help.

For the first time ever, Kim has been putting her family first however, it resulted in her allowing Rose Jackson (Christine Tremarco) and Ruby Fox- Miligan (Beth Cordingly) to manipulate her, and ruin her life. Now Claire King, 62, who has played the scheming matriarch on and off since 1989, reveals that enough is enough, it’s time for the Kim Tate viewers remember to return. “The old Kim would have chucked out Rose straight away,” despairs Claire.

“Everybody keeps asking me, ‘What’s happened to Kim and why is she being so soft?’ But she’s doing it for the family because she wants to keep them together. And because of Evan’s illness, she’s protecting the children. I think she’ll regret not booting out Rose in the first place, but Kim’s trying to do the good thing and show a better side of herself because Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) knows how bad Kim can be. So she’s really trying for her husband’s sake, but that bad side of her is always bubbling under the surface.”

Ruby and Rose have been plotting to rid Kim from the village for good, and she’s fallen victim to their schemes. In their most recent escapade, Rose sought out a vial of tranquilliser, hoping to use it on Will and seduce him, but it ended up getting mixed up with Dawn Fletcher’s (Olivia Bromley) drink. Dawn then crashed her car on the way to the hospital and Kim got the blame, which has left her outcast from the family and Home Farm.

Since her arrival, Rose has tried her luck with Will, this week her advances work and the pair end up spending the night together. “Will went to see Kim but she ignored him,” sighs Dean. “So he goes home feeling sorry for himself and gets a bit of comfort from Rose, and a little bit more love from her later on. He feels instant regret, it’s a complete moment of madness. Will really does love Kim, and he wants harmony back in the house. So I don’t know why Will went there; he fell for her trap, like a typical bloke.”

Not knowing Will is getting busy in the bedroom, Kim is elsewhere tracking down the person who sold Rose the tranquilliser and soon ends up at Ruby’s door. “I fear for Rose, and I fear for Ruby,” laughs Claire. “Kim has been trying to work out who spiked the drinks through the process of elimination. At one point she thinks Caleb Miligan (Will Ash) is the person doing this to her. But then he gives her some advice about Ruby and the penny drops.”

Finally knowing who has been out to get her, Kim returns to Home Farm, declaring it’s been Ruby and Rose setting her up from the start. Will is floored to realise he’s been played, and is now harbouring a secret that could spell the end of their marriage. “He doesn’t react too well to hearing the truth about Rose,” says Dean. “But I suppose it’s much of a muchness from what he knew about her before. Will’s obviously not seen Rose for a long time, but she has done all kinds of things before. He’s not happy about it.”

The revelation does mean one thing for Kim though – revenge. “I’ve got them all lined up and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does. There are quite a few who have wronged Kim in the last few months,” says Claire. “There’s Rose, Ruby, Will and Caleb as well. Kim has done lots of dark things in her past, and I think she’s more than capable of doing them again.

“This is an ultimate betrayal for her. Kim snaps because she’s got a lioness within her, she’s very protective of her family, so when she goes there, it’s usually for a good reason. I am looking forward to it.”

With Will’s affair waiting to be exposed, Claire admits she’s disappointed that the revelation could mean the end to family life in Home Farm as they know it. “We’ve got a good little team there, so I’d like to keep that together,” says Claire, referring to the full house with Dawn, Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle), Clemmie Reed (Mabel Addison), Lucas Taylor (Noah Ryan Aspinall) and baby Evan (Malachi McKenzie). “It went from us pottering around in this house to us going, ‘Where have all these kids come from?’”