Emmerdale fans stunned by legendary character’s return from the dead in classic episodes
EMMERDALE fans have been left stunned after unearthing a major character’s forgotten return from the dead in 1997.
Kim Tate is a force to be reckoned with on the Dales and has been one of the most recognisable characters on the ITV soap since her debut in 1989.
However, many fans are only just realising that her character was seemingly killed off in 1997 only to be brought back just months later.
Viewers can often watch classic episodes of the show on ITV3 and it appears to have got them wondering all about the forgotten Kim Tate plot.
It all came about as actress Claire King chose to quit the show in 1996 with her final scenes airing the following February.
Reports at the time indicated that the star had even been offered an extra £35,000 a year on top of her then bumper £70,000 payday but Claire was keen to pursue other opportunities.
It was then that bosses made the decision to kill off her character in a shock storyline.
Having mysteriously disappeared, ‘Kim’s body’ turned up just days later and she was formally identified by husband Frank.
The dead woman was found at the wheel of her car after she had appeared to have had an accident by a cliff.
However, three months later, Kim re-appeared on screens after Claire negotiated a new soap deal during her brief time away.
It led to bosses coming up with a plot that saw Kim pay a lookalike to drive her car around the village so that her neighbours would think she was still there when she had in fact fled to the Carribbean.
In an unfortunate twist of events, Kim’s lookalike had a car accident and died from her injuries.
Her husband Frank suffered his infamous fatal heart attack upon realising that his wife was alive.
Commenting on the story online, one fan said: “Her return from the dead in 1997 was infamous and [if I remember correctly], the first time it was done in British soap.”
Another added: “Kim is the only one where the character was intended to die but it was reversed.
“However, this occurred such a short amount of time after the death that I hardly think it counts when compared to the EE ones.”
As a third went onto explain: “It was believed that she was dead.
There was a body recovered from her crashed, flooded car which was identified as her, and a funeral.
“She effectively was dead in that Claire King had quit and the decision made to kill Kim off.
“That’s how it was storylined and written.”
Kim eventually left a little over 18 months later again in 1999 after telling bosses she would not be sticking around for long.
Since 2018, soap’s first bad girl has been back in her rightful home of Home Farm and has been involved in some of the show’s biggest stories since including taking centre stage in last year’s 60th anniversary celebrations.