Is Kim’s time on the show over… again? (Picture: ITV)
Kim Tate, as played by Claire King has been a big part of ITV’s Emmerdale since joining the show back in 1989.
Since then, she’s had her fair share of drama, from a tumultuous marriage with Frank (Norman Bowler) to faking her own death to escaping the village via helicopter with nearly £200,000 in tow back in 1999 – as you do.
King returned to the part in 2018 and quickly became the centre of more tensions and conflict, most recently embroiled in a plot involving Frank’s secret son, Caleb (William Ash).
It is becoming clear that Caleb and his son Nicky (Lewis Cope) have plans to take Home Farm away from Kim, as well as get her business and money.
It could mean that Kim’s time at the Home Farm is at an end, but does it mean that her time on the show is once again coming to a close?
Here’s what we know…
Is Kim Tate leaving Emmerdale?
No – there are currently no plans for Kim Tate to leave the soap again, despite Caleb’s plans to exact revenge.
Claire King has, however, spoken about how her health has often restricted what she can film on the show.
King was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 28 years old, and it has impacted her time on the show, such as during the filming of gruelling scenes in the storyline where Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) was murdered.
Claire King has spoken in the past about how her health has led to some restrictions on the show (Picture: ITV)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, King was also classified as vulnerable which meant she was one of a handful of cast members who couldn’t film during that time.
‘When I get a flare up, it’s not nice and it does make you feel very tired,’ she told OK! Magazine in 2020. ‘If I’m on location in winter, the cold feels like it gets to your bones.
‘Often people, don’t see it as an issue because you aren’t in a wheelchair or limping, but they look after me on the show and give me more indoor scenes during winter.’
King has also spoken about how scenes on Home Farm are often more comfortable for her, being on a nice big set out of the cold – and she’s expressed that she’s a little uneasy about the prospect that Caleb’s plans could see Kim kicked out of Home Farm.
‘She’s been there before when we had the old triangle, the Dave/Kim/Frank triangle and she got turfed out of Home Farm and she ended up living in the village,’ she said.
‘That was my biggest fear, that I could end up back there again. My rheumatoid arthritis couldn’t cope!’
But if she does get the boot from the farm? ‘I just hope there’s a set inside if she does’ said King.
It does seem however that Caleb’s scheming will soon be exposed, so there’s hope that Claire will remain on the more comfortable Home Farm set yet.
Kim may have seemingly been charmed by Caleb’s smooth-talking, but Claire has told Metro.co.uk, that Kim won’t stay naive for long.
‘Caleb’s put some malware on Kim’s computer and he hacks into it so he can get a password or something and take all her money out of her account, basically,’ she explained.
‘He’s been listening to a Neil Diamond song, Forever In Blue Jeans, that one Kim sang at the hen party. Kim hears Caleb humming along to Forever In Blue Jeans, so that triggers an alarm for Kim and she thinks right, I’ll have to test him out.’
MORE : Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher returns to ITV
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Is Claire King leaving the soap again?