Kim Tate returns to the Dales…
The Dales’ first lady is back in town – but for how long?
The grand dame of Home Farm is back under its roof this week, and she’s badder and bitchier than ever! Fresh out of jail, Kim Tate returns to her castle as if she never left almost 20 years ago – declaring that she still owns the village estate.
But as she shamelessly gloats over the assembled masquerade ball guests and immediately clashes with Charity, Kim looks set to regret her shock comeback. Very soon, there’s a terrifying scream as the lady of the manor plummets over the upstairs balcony, landing with a crash into the champagne fountain below. But who pushed her? And is she dead?
“Kim has been pulling the Home Farm strings all this time – it’s still her property, and she still owns the deeds,” reveals Claire King, who first appeared as the formidable Madame Tate in 1989. “She pulls up outside the house during the charity ball in an
Aston Martin, dressed to the nines and with a mask on – then proceeds to take over the whole ball, basically making it into her welcome home party!
“Everyone there is going, ‘Who is this woman?’ – then she takes off her mask and reveals herself by saying, ‘Me! I own the place’. There are one or two people at the ball who still recognise her, and they’re shocked to find out that
she’s back…”
Out and proud
Kim’s massive week is set to start in less salubrious surroundings, as we find her standing outside prison – where she’s been serving a sentence – waiting for Graham to come to collect her. But while it transpires that the pair have been working together all this time, the shocking details of Kim’s wicked plot are yet to be fully revealed.
“Everything is set to become clear across the week,” teases Claire.
“KIM HAS BEEN PULLING THE HOME FARM STRINGS ALL THIS TIME!”
“KIM HAS BEEN IN PRISON – HER HEINOUS CRIMES HAVE CAUGHT UP WITH HER!”
“Kim’s obviously been a very naughty girl, because she’s been incarcerated in prison. She’s released six months early, but has been in there for a while – I think some of her heinous crimes have caught up with her! She’s probably been abroad somewhere, carrying on her crimes in Spain or Portugal, before getting caught.”
As Graham proceeds to bring Kim up to speed on events in the village, her delight at finally being a free woman is soon replaced by fury. Outraged by the news that Joe and Debbie are set to wed, she swiftly informs mortified Graham that Joe needs to go!
“It turns out that Joe and Graham have been working for Kim while she’s been behind bars,” admits Claire. “And it appears that Joe has gone a little bit rogue through his involvement with Debbie. Kim’s not happy, so it looks as if him getting married to a Dingle wasn’t part of the plan!”
Ta ta, Ms Tate?
While Graham gets to work on his boss lady’s latest instruction, Kim has plenty of time to prepare for her grand entrance to the masked ball. And from the moment she steps out of her flashy car, it’s clear she hasn’t lost an ounce of that classic Kim Tate sass which we know and love…
Kim doesn’t waste a second before dishing out crushing comments to all and sundry, leaving no guest unscathed by her acid tongue – and Charity is first into the fray, with her friends forced to hold her back as she stands her ground and furiously lets rip at Kim. So when Kim comes tumbling from the heights of Home Farm, is Charity prime suspect for sending her flying – possibly to her death?
“I think one of the Dingles would be in the frame as far as Kim is concerned,” suggests Claire. “But bets will be hedged more on Charity than anybody else, because she’s the gobby one at the party. It could be her, yet it may not be. We’ll have to wait and see!”