Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Claire King to return to Emmerdale after almost 20-year absence

Claire King is set to return to Emmerdale (Ian West/PA)
Claire King is set to return to Emmerdale (Ian West/PA)

Claire King is set to return to Emmerdale for a special cameo after nearly 20 years away.

The actress will reprise her role as the villainous Kim Tate during a new plotline.

Tate appeared on the show between 1989 and 1999 during which time she attempted murder, faked her own death and stood by as her husband died.

She was last seen escaping in a helicopter after trying to kill her stepson.

Tate was sentenced in her absence but her location remained unknown until now.

Kim Tate
Claire King as Kim Tate (Yorkshire Television)

The glamorous antihero is now back and expected to be seeking revenge.

King, 55, said: “As a Yorkshire lass myself, I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in Yorkshire for a fun-filled cameo, once again reaping havoc in the Dales!”

“As there are still some familiar faces from 20 years ago it’s felt like coming home and I couldn’t have had a more lovely welcome from such a talented cast and crew, so thank you everyone! It’s literally been a blast!”

The actress is also known for playing prison officer Karen Betts in Bad Girls and joined the cast of Coronation Street from 2014 until 2017 as Erica Holroyd.

Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks said: “Kim Tate is such a hurricane of a character, notorious for wreaking havoc wherever she goes.

“Kim’s explosive return shakes the very foundations of the village as she swaggers back into Home Farm, leaving a devastating trail of destruction in her wake.

“We are delighted to welcome Claire back to the show; an actor exuding charisma and ebullience.

“It is testament to Claire’s immense talent that her portrayal of such an iconic soap villain is so convincing.

“We are all absolutely thrilled that she’s filling Kim Tate’s designer shoes once again.”