| Kim Tate | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Claire King | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1989–1999, 2018–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 1411 12 December 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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Kim Tate (previously Barker, Marchant and Foster) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Claire King. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Kim is portrayed in the serial as an antagonist, who often concocts money making and vengeful schemes against other characters. During her first stint in the series, Kim's turbulent marriage to Frank Tate (Norman Bowler) was prominent. Writers also explored her difficult relationship with her stepchildren, Chris (Peter Amory) and Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell). Kim's motive for her scheming was to gain control of the Tate family business; her marriage was problematic due to her affairs with Neil Kincaid (Brian Deacon) and Dave Glover (Ian Kelsey), the latter died after he saved Kim's son James Tate (Sam Silson) from a fire.
Kim's other prominent stories include faking her own death to frame Frank before leaving him to die of a heart attack, and a business partnership with Lord Alex Oakwell (Rupam Maxwell), which culminates in the death of Linda Fowler (Tonicha Jeronimo). As revenge, Linda's mother Jan Glover (Roberta Kerr) kidnaps James. Writers created a relationship between Kim and Steve Marchant (Paul Opacic), a subsequent marriage and more money making scams. King decided to leave Emmerdale and Kim departed during the episode broadcast on 19 January 1999, when she escaped the village in a helicopter with James and £190,000 of Chris' money.
King returned to the series in 2018 for a guest appearance before returning the following year permanently. Her return featured Kim being pushed off a balcony at Home Farm by Faith Dingle (Sally Dexter). Early in her second stint, storylines involving her mostly followed her relationship with Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) - who later turned out to be her husband; he was soon killed-off in a whodunit storyline. Later storylines saw her pursue a relationship with her employee Will Taylor (Dean Andrews), her feuds with daughter-in-law Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale), Will's daughter Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley), her son Jamie (now played by Alexander Lincoln), Jamie's ex-lover Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) and Will's ex-wife Rose Jackson (Christine Tremarco). Critics of the genre have praised Kim and she has often been branded as "the ultimate soap bitch".