Emmerdale's Claire King has teased that DS Thea Ramsden could die after being stabbed by her secret mother, Kim Tate, during a tense showdown at Home Farm.
In scenes set to air next week on the ITV soap, Thea arrives at Home Farm, and Kim—unaware that Thea is her long-lost daughter—accuses her of kidnapping Baby Tate. As Kim tries to escape, Thea grabs hold of her, and in a panic, Kim stabs Thea with a cheese knife.
Claire King reveals the stabbing aftermath
Speaking about the scene, Claire King said: "Thea turns up, and at first Kim doesn't think it's Thea at all, so she tells her what's going on—the noises, the bangs, the things like that."
She continued: "Then Kim suddenly thinks, 'Oh my gosh, it is it's Thea.' So she tries to run and escape. She hides, but Thea comes through, locks the back door before she can bolt through it. So as she's running round the table, she kind of slips, and Thea manages to grab hold of her. And in a panic, she's thinking, 'I'm going to get hurt.' So, and she just happens to stumble across a cheese knife, sharp cheese knife, and in her panic state, she stabs Thea."
Will Thea survive?
On whether Thea could die, Claire teased: "The knife has gone in. She's not bleeding out, but she does pass out, and Kim's in total panic mode. She doesn't know whether she can save her or not."
She added: "I think she'd be absolutely beside herself if she realised that Thea was her daughter at this point because she spent all this time trying to get to know her, having lost her 27 years ago, and now she could lose her forever."
What happens next for Kim?
If Thea survives, Claire reckons Kim could face serious consequences. She said: "Thea's been stalking Kim for a long time, so she knows that she could do her harm. And this is the worst-case scenario now because she thinks that, you know, Thea will actually get her back and put her in prison for this. So it's whether, it's how Thea is going to respond to this in hospital when she gets treated. The police would get involved, and obviously if something happens to her, um, or if the worst-case scenario, she dies, she could end up back in prison again."
Claire also discussed Kim's evolution over the years, describing her as still "ruthless" despite appearing to mellow. She said: "I think she is mellowing, but it's mainly because we've been seeing a lot of children about and babies, and the horses and things, and those are the things that make her soft. But underneath she's still got a steely hard core, you know. And a very ruthless side."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
