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Emmerdale’s Claire King set to reprise role as bad girl Kim Tate after 20 years

Comeback: Claire King will reprise her role as Kim Tate in Emmerdale: ITV/Emmerdale
Comeback: Claire King will reprise her role as Kim Tate in Emmerdale: ITV/Emmerdale

Actress Claire King is set to make her Emmerdale comeback as bad girl Kim Tate nearly two decades after leaving the soap.

The TV star, 55, left Home Farm back in 1999 when she fled the town after trying to seduce and kill Chris, but will make her return in dramatic scenes set to air in October.

While soap fans were overjoyed by the revelation, they were left baffled by the apparent spoiler dropped by the ITV announcer on Monday evening.

Making the revelation ahead of time, an on-air announcement teased Tuesday’s Lorraine, saying: “It's been 20 years since she left the Dales, but Kim Tate is back. Actress Claire King is on Lorraine at 8.30.”

Bad girl: Kim Tate's final dramatic scenes in 1999 (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Bad girl: Kim Tate's final dramatic scenes in 1999 (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The news was supposed to be a closely-guarded secret, but it seems that the ITV announcer couldn’t wait to make the big reveal just before 6pm.

One surprised viewer wrote on Twitter: “So @ITV talk over guy has just announced Kim Tate is back in @emmerdale ??? Major spoiler!!”

Another wrote: “ITV have just dropped a bit of a clanger. The continuity announcer has just admitted that Kim Tate is coming back to Emmerdale after 20 years away. It's supposed to be a secret... Not no more it isn't! Woops!”

Talking about her big return, King told the Mirror that she “thrilled” to be heading back to the Dales for a “fun-filled” cameo.

“As a Yorkshire lass myself, I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in Yorkshire for a fun-filled cameo, once again reaping havoc in the Dales,” she said.

“As there are still some familiar faces from 20 years ago it’s felt like coming home and I couldn’t have had a more lovely welcome from such a talented cast and crew, so thank you everyone! It’s literally been a blast.”

While details of the storyline are yet to be confirmed, the iconic character is slated to take her revenge on the people who have wronged her in the past during a week of high drama.