Claire King signs new Emmerdale contract
Emmerdale legend Claire King has agreed a new contract that will keep her on the ITV soap as Kim Tate for another year.
Claire King has signed a new Emmerdale contract.
The 63-year-old actress has agreed a new deal on the ITV soap that will keep her on the Dales for another year as the super-bitch Kim Tate.
Claire made a dramatic return to the show as Kim in 2018, having previously played the character between 1989 and 1999, and is set for another major storyline in the near future.
A source told The Sun: "Bosses love Claire and they are delighted she's going nowhere.
"Kim Tate is one of the soap all time greats and it's only right that she has a massive storyline.
"It's going to delve into who Kim is and where she's come from and see her rediscover the grit that made her Kim Tate.
"She's going to stop at nothing to get what she wants - and make a few more enemies in the process as well as potentially changing the village forever."
Claire previously revealed how she was planning for her Emmerdale return to be a "nice little retirement job", although it hadn't worked out as intended because Kim is at the heart of the show's major storylines.
She said: "I’m not sure I’ll still be here in 20 years.
"It’s a nice thought, but I think they would have to wheel me on set.
"I’ve been fortunate to come back to Emmerdale.
"My return to the show was meant to be a nice little retirement job for me.
"But because Kim is at the centre of everything, it hasn’t really worked out that way."
Claire previously quipped that Emmerdale bosses "don't realise" that she is a pensioner as they upped the number of horseback tricks for her alter ego in the soap.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper in 2022, the former Coronation Street star said: "They’re getting me to do more stunts than when I was 25 - they don’t realise I’m a pensioner.
"They’re killing me off slowly… not Kim Tate but me, Claire. I’m on a horse. I’m rolling around in the mud…"
Claire recalled how she was warned not to "mess around" with horses during her early years on Emmerdale when she filmed scenes with Frazer Hines - who portrayed Joe Sugden on the show between 1972 and 1994.
She said: "I wouldn’t have attempted it if I hadn’t ridden horses before. Horses have a mind of their own, so it's one thing you don’t mess around with.
"Frazer and I had a lot of hunting scenes on horseback where we jumped five foot hedges and realised we were flying over there were 6ft drops on the other side.
"But because I did it, Frazer had to do it too because it was competition time. We were both amateur jockeys and both rode in races so we know our horses, but it was the first time we’d got on them to film.
"In those days, you didn’t have stunt people to get up and do it for you. You just had to get up and do it."
