Emmerdale icon Claire King has played Kim Tate on the soap for more than three decades.
The actress, 60, first arrived in the fictional Yorkshire village in 1989 and stayed there for ten years before fleeing with her son, James, in a dramatic helicopter escape. Almost 20 years later, Kim returned for what was supposed to be a one-off appearance.
But she clearly enjoyed the return more than anticipated, and was soon a regular character once again.
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Kim has been at the centre of some of Emmerdale's most explosive story-lines, but away from the cameras her life could almost have been scripted. Claire has endured some tough times over the years, almost facing bankruptcy, battling a "secret" illness, and suffering a devastating heartbreak.
Last year, the star told OK! she suffers with rheumatoid arthritis, and that it has been so bad it has almost stopped her from working. She was diagnosed with the illness at just 28 years old.
Claire said: "I struggled to go to work and do the things I love, like horse-riding, because of the terrible pressure it put on my knees, I can certainly relate to the ‘invisible disease’ – although my symptoms don’t always show, it doesn’t mean I’m not in pain or feeling exhausted.”
In Emmerdale, Claire's character has just got married to Will Taylor and it is the fifth time Kim Tate has been married in the soap. In real life, however, Claire has just been married once.
In 2004, the actress split from her husband, co-star Peter Amory, who played her stepson Chris Tate in the ITV soap. Claire and Chris were married for 10 years after getting hitched in 1994, but it all came crashing down after Claire found out her husband was having an affair, reports LeedsLive. Claire has since said she and Pete are on "good terms".
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