Despite Frank Tate dying many, many years ago his character has been a huge part of recent Emmerdale storylines.
As Emmerdale fans know, the character of Frank Tate has featured again in the soap after a big revelation. Frank died in 1997, in no small part thanks to his volatile relationship with wife Kim Tate.
Viewers have recently discovered soap newcomer Caleb Milligan is the secret son of Frank Tate. We aren’t sure if Emmerdale bosses will somehow bring back acting star Norman Bowler, 90, as Frank but we’ll keep you posted if we hear anything.
Read more: Emmerdale stars who have appeared in Hollywood films
In the meantime, we are going to take a look at Norman’s life and namely what he’s been up to since leaving Emmerdale. His character was killed off after Norman played Frank in 661 episodes of the ITV soap.
Take a scroll below and find out more about acting star Norman Bowler.
Early life and career
Norman Bowler was born in London, back in 1932, and his father Clifford was a watchmaker and jeweller. He had a shop in West Hampstead where he is commemorated by a plaque. In his early career, Norman appeared as Titinius in Julius Caesar, as Saturninus in Jesus of Nazareth, as Bill Smugs in The Island of Adventure and as Moose in the Terence Hill film They Call Me Renegade.
That famous Emmerdale death
Frank's death was one of the most iconic episodes of Emmerdale, when he was left to die, by his wife Kim Tate, of a heart attack on the floor of his beloved Home Farm. All these years later, Frank’s little-known son Caleb is in the village hellbent on revenge against Kim. We’ll have to see how things play out in the coming weeks and months.
Marriages
Norman was a member of the 1950s Soho set alongside John Minton, Francis Bacon and Daniel Farson. There he met Henrietta Moraes, who divorced her first husband, Michael Law, and married Norman. This marriage ended in 1956 with the pair having two children, Joshua and Caroline, although many years later it transpired that Joshua's father was actually Colin Tennant.
Norman’s second wife was Berjourhi Bowler and they divorced in 1969 - after 10 years of marriage. His third wife Dianne died in December 2012. Down the years, Norman has spent time alternating between the UK and India.
There's a suggestion Paddy and Mandy might finally get back together. Would you like to see it happen? You can vote below or here
Life after Emmerdale
Norman’s last listed film role on IMDB was in a feature called Living in Hope where he appeared alongside future James Bond franchise favourite. Norman’s role is listed as ‘dad’ in the comedy about student life. In 2017, Norman gave an interview about being a model for artist John Minton. You can watch the interview here.
As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village and away from it. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
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