Emmerdale: Caleb revealed to be Frank Tate's son, but who was he?

There was a jaw-dropping twist in tonight’s Emmerdale, as two big secrets were revealed about mysterious newcomer Caleb Miligan (William Ash) that changes everything on the ITV soap.

Not only is Caleb the father of Home Farm nanny Nicky (played by Lewis Cope), but he is also the son of past character Frank Tate (Norman Bowler).

Viewers will recall that Caleb was initially introduced as the half-brother of Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) — with the trio sharing a mum in Faith (Sally Dexter) who passed away last year.

Assuming that his established connection to the Dingles is genuine, this means that Caleb is connected to two of Emmerdale’s most iconic families, with Nicky now falling into the same category after coming into the soap with no surname.

Nicky’s romance and engagement to Home Farm shareholder Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) is all an act; as is Caleb’s business deal with the late Frank’s ex-wife Kim Tate (Claire King).

Caleb apparently lost a lot of money before arriving in the village, and the father and son are plotting to take over Home Farm and claim the Tate wealth.

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But while we wait to find out what Caleb and Nicky's next move will be, you may be wondering exactly who Frank Tate was.

So read on as we delve into his history on the ITV soap.

What happened to Frank Tate?

Pitching up in the village in 1989, Frank moved into Home Farm with much younger second wife Kim, joined by his two grown up children, Chris (Peter Amory) and Zoe (Leah Bracknell). Frank’s marriage to Kim broke down in 1992 when she had an affair, and he turned to alcohol to cope.

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The following year, Emmerdale was rocked by a plane crash; but Frank was hailed when he helped farmer Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) rebuild the destroyed bridge in order to allow access to the emergency services. Amid the horror, Frank saved Kim’s life, stopping her from running into the burning stables to rescue her horses; and the couple later reunited and remarried.

Happier with his life, Frank gave up drinking. In 1995, he clashed with the Dingles when he tried to throw them out of their home. But the clan won the war and their cottage was renamed Wishing Well.

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The same year, Frank suffered a heart attack and Kim embarked on another affair — this time with Home Farm employee Dave Glover (Ian Kelsey). Frank grew suspicious and hired someone to spy on the pair, which led him to catch them in a passionate encounter with the famous line: “What do you call this, Dave: overtime?”

Kim fell pregnant and gave birth to baby James (later known as Jamie, played by Alexander Lincoln). Frank paid her £1 million to claim the baby was his; but it was eventually confirmed that Frank was indeed the father.

But for Kim, there was no going back with Frank, and in 1997 she faked her own death in a plot to frame him. He was incarcerated for her murder; but upon his release, Kim turned up at his door alive and well. The shock and stress amid their heated row caused Frank to have another heart attack, and Kim did nothing to help him.

Watching him dying on the floor, Kim taunted him before using her compact mirror to check if he was still breathing. Satisfied that he was dead, Kim calmly reapplied her makeup, creating one of the soap’s most memorable moments of all time.

Two years later, a man named Liam Hammond (Mark Powley) took Chris hostage. It was revealed that Liam was also Frank’s son from a past affair, and Zoe shot and killed Liam while attempting to free Chris. Liam was buried next to Frank, and it was assumed this was the last skeleton in Frank’s closet - until now.

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