Claire King has revealed she feared being axed from Emmerdale when bosses called her upstairs for an important meeting. The actress, who plays Kim Tate, said she grew worried as she headed to the discussion, thinking it could signal her departure from the ITV soap after nearly four decades.
Kim Tate's Secret Daughter Revealed
In tonight's episode, viewers learned that Kim Tate has a secret daughter, DS Thea Ramsden, played by newcomer Chelsea Edge. Thea arrived in the village a few weeks ago but had been hiding the secret. At the end of the episode, a younger Kim was seen looking at her baby when a nurse asked if she wanted to proceed with the adoption. When asked about a name, Kim said she had been fond of Anthea.
Speaking to The Mirror and other press, Claire recalled the moment she found out about the storyline and her initial fears. She said: "Yeah, well, if you're asked to go upstairs, you kind of get a bit twitchy sometimes, you think, 'Oh god, it's me next! That's it!' But anyway they said, 'No, we want to talk about future storylines. Um, Kim's got a daughter.'"
Timeline of the Twist
Claire continued: "I was thinking, 'Okay, so it could be so-and-so's, and it could be so-and-so's,' cause it was just after I'd left the first time, so we're talking about the turn of the century, basically. I think she's about 26, so it's just after Kim left in the helicopter, so you've got to put two and two together and see what you come up with."
The news of Thea comes days after two shock deaths on the show. Jimmy King, played by Nick Miles, and Dawn Taylor, played by Olivia Bromley, both died. Dawn and Kim lived together, meaning the second death has a direct impact on the Tates and its matriarch Kim.
Reflecting on Olivia Bromley's Exit
Speaking about Olivia's exit, Claire said: "It was heartbreaking. But we did have a good laugh that week because we were all outside this massive marquee where we were doing all the the wedding stuff and car crash, and it's all supposed to be tragic but we were all actually having a good life."
She added: "We had some really nice people on on set that day. Great crew, and it was just a bit of camaraderie. But I could see as the days went on to the final day she was getting more and more sort of angst and things."
