Sadie King will be back in Emmerdale later this year, 20 years after she first arrived in the village. The character, played by Patsy Kensit, made her debut in 2004 as the wife of Jimmy King (Nick Miles), though their marriage didn't last long. She later had romances with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Jimmy's brother Matthew (Matt Healy).
A Shocking Secret Brings Her Back
Now the iconic villain is returning to the village, where she is set to reveal a major secret. Speaking to press at a recent event, Emmerdale boss Laura Shaw teased Sadie's return, saying: "It's Sadie King. I feel like, of course she's got an agenda... What I can say is the reason that Sadie comes back and the secret she comes back with is gonna be absolutely shocking."
"And whether all is quite as it seems, we shall see as the story progresses, but it's gonna be pretty big and pretty shocking."
'One of the Biggest Secrets in King Family History'
Laura went on: "We've definitely tried to bring Sadie back every bit in a dramatic way as she arrived last time. So, I think her arrival will be every bit as amazing and brilliant as the first time around."
"I think probably the most shocking thing is definitely the reason that brings her back. It's undoubtedly one of the biggest secrets we've ever had within the King family, and it's gonna be pretty explosive."
The series producer assured soap fans that Sadie's return will be "massively rewarding" as they revisit iconic Dales storylines. "Some of the stories that we, you know, that Sadie was involved in back then, some of the characters that she had relationships with - people like Robert, like Cain Dingle - it's going to be really interesting to be able to revisit some of those stories as well," Laura explained.
"We'll be able to see how that [what] happened back then 20 years ago, and those relationships and those stories that we played back then, still affect what we play now and we'll pick up on those and it will still kind of affect how the relationships work now."
Patsy Kensit Teases a Bittersweet Side
Patsy also revealed that Sadie hasn't lost the manipulative nature that propelled her to fame, but a slightly different side to her character will be shown when she returns. She joked: "She was probably birthed by a Jekyll," adding: "There's a pretty bittersweet side to her and it'd be nice that maybe that comes through. But she's still a cow."
Lots of drama awaits Sadie, as she has already been slapped by some of the villagers in scenes Patsy has filmed so far. "You won't be disappointed," the actress teased.
Special Season Puts Six Women Centre Stage
The ITV soap has now launched a special season set to change the Dales, with six iconic women taking centre stage. They include Sadie, as well as Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham), Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins), Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), and Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy).
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
