Claire King says Emmerdale’s Kim Tate will be "bigger and badder" than before – but she will only be back for a week.
The 55-year-old actress is returning to the ITV show to play the soap superbitch for the first time in 20 years, and while she is only back for seven days, the former ‘Coronation Street’ actress says her alter-ego will "wreak havoc" aplenty.
She said: "She is going to come back and wreak havoc, even though she’s just back for a week. She does quite a lot in that week.
"She’s bigger, badder than she was before, and obviously a bit older."
When asked if Kim could be back for longer than a week, Claire replied: "I’m committed to pantomime at Christmas, and I’ve got a film coming out at the end of October, so things are busy."
Following her dramatic Dales departure in a helicopter last time out, Kim will arrive in the village in an Aston Martin DB9, and Claire loved taking the motor for a spin.
Claire said: "She arrives in a DB9 this time, which was rather nice, and I got to drive it.
"We didn’t have a helicopter but we had a nice Aston Martin, so great."
The former ‘Bad Girls’ actress felt like she was working on a new job when she returned to the main ‘Emmerdale’ set, but as soon as she headed back to the location of Home Farm – Kim’s former home with late husband Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), who she left to die – she felt "really at home" again.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’, she added: "The first few days I was working with Andy Scarborough, who is brilliant and made me feel really at home.
"It did feel like a new job at first until I arrived at Home Farm. Then the old boots came on, and she was back. It felt really at home. It was great.
"I can’t believe it’s been 20 years, but I think the timing is just about right.
"Now the time’s right, we’ve got Joe Tate in there, so a Tate name is back in, and it just seemed to slot in."
Claire King: Kim Tate is ‘bigger and badder than before’
