What happened to Frank – and how is Kim involved? (Pictures: ITV)
Frank Tate (Norman Bowler) hasn’t been on Emmerdale since the 1990s… but the character’s legacy lives on.
In 2023, shady Caleb Milligan (William Ash) rocked up to the village, and began a revenge campaign against Kim Tate (Claire King) and made a play for Home Farm.
It was revealed that – shock! – Caleb was actually Frank’s son, so he plans to take down Kim and steal her fortune, which was procured after Frank’s untimely death.
But did Kim actually kill Frank? What did happen to him all those years ago?
And how did Frank even know Kim?
Here is everything you need to know.
Who was Frank Tate in Emmerdale?
Businessman Frank was a major player in the village – then named Beckindale – from 1989 until 1997.
Kim and Frank were married twice, but it wasn’t a happy relationship (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
He and second wife Kim, his former secretary, showed up and bought Home Farm and its surrounding land, and lived there with Frank’s adult children Chris and Zoe.
Their relationship, however, was famously volatile.
In 1992, they divorced after Kim had an affair with Neil Kincaid, who Frank then attacked. He later fell back into alcohol addiction.
The pair were also involved in the 1993 plane crash that devastated the village, with Kim’s horse stables being destroyed by the fire – but the horror smash saw their romance rekindle.
Kim to moved back into Home Farm, and they remarried in 1994. Kim became pregnant with their son, Jamie Tate – but this was revealed around the same time as yet another affair on Kim’s part.
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Things weren’t to be, and they split once more. But was the third time the charm?
Definitely not…
Did Kim Tate kill Frank in Emmerdale?
By time 1997 rolled around, Kim had begun an evil plot to frame Frank for her murder.
She managed it, too – faking her death and getting her ex-husband locked up for supposedly committing the crime.
Upon his release, Kim paid him a visit.
Frank spent time in prison for Kim’s murder… but her death was faked and it was all an evil scheme (Credits: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
It was the shock of a lifetime, as Frank had previously been to her funeral, and she revealed it was a double who’d been killed.
The pair then argued over their son Jamie, with Frank attempting to choke Kim – telling her: ‘I’d rather watch you die than watch you take my son.’
Frank couldn’t get his words out, though, as he began to suffer a massive heart attack.
Clutching his arm, and struggling to speak, he asked Kim for help with calling an ambulance.
Instead, she sat by and watched his struggle, pulling a cable from the phone to make it unusable – telling him: ‘You’re a dinosaur, Frank, and you know what happened to them’.
Frank asked her to remember that they once loved each other, before he fell to the ground.
As Frank lay all-but-dead, wicked Kim then poured herself a drink and laughed to herself, saying: ‘Cheers to life!’ Finally, Kim applied a spot of make-up using her compact before walking away for good.
His daughter Zoe found him the next morning, but it was too late to save him.
MORE : Emmerdale spoilers: Seething Nicky turns on Caleb as their plan explodes
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It’s why Caleb is seeking revenge.