Emmerdale’s Kim Tate hits rock bottom on Christmas Day – exactly a year since hubby Will Taylor suffered a fatal heart attack. It’s a storyline highlighting loneliness which affects millions of Brits
Claire King has played Emmerdale’s Kim Tate for more than 15 years on and off but her Christmas storyline is one of her most emotional yet.
The anniversary of losing her husband is compounded by the death of her horse, Ice, after he was caught in a trap in an accident that nearly cost her a leg.
All because of an illegal shooting party on her land, organised behind her back by her best mate, Lydia Dingle.
Dogged by grief and betrayal, she spends December 25 alone, in a storyline that actress Claire King hopes will turn the focus on the 1.4 million people in the UK suffering from loneliness and likely to be eating dinner solo, according to figures from the Policy Institute at King’s College London.
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Claire, 63, says: “It breaks my heart every time I watch the Age UK advert [highlighting loneliness] and it really gets to me. I know Christmas is essentially a Sunday lunch that seems to go on for months. But, for those on their own, it’s a heartbreaking time. It’s always important to pop round to see people to make sure they are alright with a little pudding or some sloe gin – that’s what I will be doing.”
Playing Kim has brought the subject of loneliness home – after she fell out with Lydia, who staged the shoot to raise some money to pay for her electrics to be fixed. “It’s a sad time for Kim,” she says. “It’s a year since she lost her husband, Will, and she has had this big fall out with Lydia, all because she needed some money to pay for the electrics.
“She is now on crutches because of everything that went on with the shoot and she is helpless. It’s a real bah humbug moment for her.” Of Kim’s fall-out with Lydia, she continues: “I don’t like those two falling out as they are great together. Kim respects Lydia and she allows her to get away with a lot more than anyone else. But Lydia knows she has made a big mistake. It would be such a shame if they lost that friendship.”
Her current storyline makes Claire even more grateful for the close family life she enjoys off-screen. Living with her partner in Harrogate, she lost her dad, John, in September 2024, and will be going all out to make her mum, Angela – who lives nearby – feel special at Christmas. “Before my father died, I would be jumping on a flight as soon as I could get out of Emmerdale,” she says. “But since losing him, I want to be at home so I can invite Mum round. I do the full-on spread; I make way too much food and pour way too much drink! But you just want everyone to be happy.”
But she is thrifty with gifts – opting for secret Santa. “Everyone has one present and then we buy for the grandchildren and dogs,” she says. “It’s so nice being able to catch up and talk more deeply over Christmas around the dinner table.” And she won’t be tuning in to see if Kim gets a last minute invite on Christmas Day, as her family will be eating – so she will catch up later. Reflecting on another former Home Farm resident, Lewis Cope – who played Nicky Milligan – she reveals how she has loved watching him on Strictly.
Claire, who came sixth when partnered with Brendan Cole on Strictly in 2006, says she wouldn’t be able to keep up now, laughing: “It just makes my bones ache even thinking about it! My feet were absolute agony. I wouldn’t do it now.” Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, aged 28, she says winter can be tough because of the condition, but Emmerdale’s producers are incredibly accommodating when she has to film outside. She says. “They try to keep me out of the village scenes between October and March.”
First joining Emmerdale to play Kim in 1989, Claire quit a decade later to pursue opportunities like Strictly. But she returned in 2018 and is very grateful she was invited back. “Being away from Emmerdale made me realise it can be difficult being a jobbing actress going around the country with a suitcase on tour,” she says. “I’m very appreciative.”
Praising other members of the cast, who film multiple scenes, she adds: “Somebody said soap actors actually go through more emotions than most people do in ten years, because so much is crammed in. There is that much chaos, drama and heartbreak that we’ve got to get into. It can be quite draining playing a drama queen character at times and I know particularly last year when we filmed the aftermath of Will’s heart attack, everything was heightened for me. I’d just lost my father and the tears were real. That was very emotional.”
But fans may be sad to hear that Kim’s man-eating sex scenes are well and truly over. Claire jokes: “There again, that’s partly to do with me. I am keeping covered up thank you very much! I think Kim’s storylines have been very good over the last two or three years. She has been softened, but there is still that steely edge.” Now four husbands down, will Kim find new love in 2026? “I don’t know,” says Claire. “Kim is obviously getting over Will still, so we will have to wait and see.”
And she also discloses how she would like an older actor to join the cast, so she doesn’t have to “ talk TikTok all day.” She says: “It would be quite good fun to have someone my age that understands the Eighties. I miss that since Dean, who played Will, left.” But Claire is happy giving advice to younger actors, as the older stateswoman of the cast. “People do ask me for advice,” she says. “It’s called longevity, age and wisdom. But the thing is you get into your sixties and you have lived a life, so you do have knowledge.”
But age does not hamper her enthusiasm for the soap and, after a post-Christmas sunshine break, she will be raring to go again. “From my side, I would like to stay [in Emmerdale]” she says. “But they might have plans to get rid of me already! I have read things like ‘Kim’s fate is doomed’ but I certainly haven’t read that in the scripts. It’s why I don’t ever read anything on social media.”
One show she won’t be queuing up to join, however, is Celebrity Traitors. Because Kim is so scheming, she reckons everyone would think she was a Traitor immediately. “I would probably be tapped on the shoulder and everyone would know I was a Traitor,” she quips. “And even if I wasn’t, everyone would think I was!”
For now, she hopes life will take a turn for the better for Kim while, in real life, she is happy with her lot. With no plans to make any New Year’s resolutions, she says life is there to enjoy, adding:: “You get to my age and I feel privileged to be here.”
What to do if you are feeling lonely over Christmas:
If, like Kim Tate, you are feeling lonely this Christmas, help can be found at Age UK: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/loneliness/ The charity offers telephone helplines and free advice 365 days a year.
You can also get help from Mind, which has many useful numbers: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/useful-contacts/
