Emmerdale fans have expressed frustration over a perceived change in soap icon Kim Tate's behaviour in recent episodes, saying she now appears to bend over backwards for Joe Tate.
Kim Tate's Recent Storylines
Kim, played by Claire King, first appeared in the ITV soap, which is filmed in Leeds, in 1989. She left the Dales a decade later, returning in 2018 after a near-20-year absence. During her time away, she played Erica Holroyd in Coronation Street from 2014 to 2017.
Since her return, Kim married Will Taylor, but their relationship broke down after his affair with ex-wife Rosie Jackson. The pair feuded, with Joe Tate also involved after his return late last year. Kim and Will eventually reconciled, but on Christmas Day Will collapsed and died from a heart attack during an argument.
Mourning and Family Tensions
Since then, Kim has been dealing with multiple losses, including her horse Ice and Dawn Taylor, who was like a daughter to her. She is also navigating Joe's grief and his struggle to bond with his newborn son.
Kim has a daughter in the village, DS Thea Ramsden, unaware that Thea is the child she gave up for adoption years ago. Claire King told the Manchester Evening News: "The audience gets to know about it before Kim does, so it'll be quite a good surprise for them to see Kim's reaction."
She added: "I think she really wanted to wipe it out of her brain. She thought she was giving her to a good home, that she was happy. It was down to her daughter Thea to find her, because she had no idea where she was."
Viewer Reaction
Claire also suggested Kim would be hesitant about bonding with Thea after her experiences with son Jamie, saying: "But I think she would love to have a bond with her daughter."
On a Reddit thread, one user wrote: "I'm utterly fed up of Joe. He says jump and Graham and Kim ask how high." Another said: "Did Kim's spine disappear when Dawn tried to poison her or when she fell off that horse a while back, I mean come on Joe tells her that Gabby can't stay at the house anymore?"
A third viewer commented: "I've said in another thread but I'm convinced this is going to be due to never before revealed guilt over putting Thea up for adoption. It's poorly written and inconsistent with who Kim has always been."
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.
