Claire King’s favourite role to play was Kim Tate in ‘Emmerdale’.
The 54-year-old actress portrayed the mega bitch for 10 years until 1999 and, although she’s also made a name for herself playing governor Karen Betts in ‘Bad Girls’ and, most recently, Erica Holroyd in ‘Coronation Street’, she has admitted she thoroughly enjoyed her time on the long-running soap and would love to reprise it one day.
She explained: !I apologise to all the others, but Kim Tate was the ultimate, I had the chance to play some great themes, I had some brilliant storylines, and I got paid to ride a horse all day."
Claire – who used to have a jockey licence – particularly enjoyed it because she got to do all of her own stunts and found it hilarious when the horses failed to obey and let out some noises from their bottoms.
She explained: "I did all my own stunts, you did all your own stunts then because you didn’t have stunt people to do it for you, they would say ‘oh I just do buildings and stuff, you’re a better rider than me anyway’ and they didn’t have the health and safety after them in those days which they do now, so yeah I did all my own stunts.
"Apart from when it does nasty things, make noises. Oh yeah, galloping up the field with the horse trumping away – ‘it’s not me!’ They brought the horses in, they were all very well schooled."
Claire King’s favourite role to play was Kim Tate in Emmerdale
