Kim on Emmerdale on December 25, 2025 / ITV
Emmerdale icon Claire King has hinted that she may soon quit her role as Kim Tate for health reasons.
The 64-year-old played the soap’s most famous mega-bitch from 1989 to 1999, returning almost two decades later in 2018 as a regular cast member.
With another decade on screen as Kim approaching, however, King has suggested that she is reaching the point where she may choose to slow down or retire from the soap entirely.
“You start noticing the 5am starts five days a week and learning lines every weekend,” she told Woman’s Weekly, in quotes reported by Metro.
“That’s not ideal really when you’re getting older. And it doesn’t help that I have arthritis because the medication slows the brain down.
“I’ll never fully retire, but I might retire from Emmerdale because I do get a lot of exposure and the brain is getting slower now that I’m in my mid-60s.”
Kim is currently embroiled in a major storyline which has led to the revelation that she has an adult daughter whom she gave up for adoption more than 20 years ago.
