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<\/p>\nEMMERDALE legend Claire King has been on television for an impressive 40 years now.<\/p>\n
The soap actress, who is 62, first shot to fame when she appeared in girl pop group To Be Continued.<\/p>\n
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She went on to land her first acting role in 1987 when she appeared in film Eat the Rich.<\/p>\n
But the star is most famous for playing Emmerdale baddie Kim Tate, arriving in the Dales in 1989.<\/p>\n
She played the role for 10 years before departing for other job opportunities.<\/p>\n
Although her character was married a grand total of five times on the soap, Claire herself only tied the knot once – and it was to her screen stepson.<\/p>\n
She developed a romance on set with Peter Amory, who played her archenemy Chris Tate.<\/p>\n It seems that this pair took the idiom keep your friends close but your enemies closer to heart, and they ended up getting married in 1994.<\/p>\n The couple were together for ten years before it all fell apart when Peter had an affair – with another woman from Emmerdale.<\/p>\n According to LeedsLive, Claire discovered her husband was shacking up with Samantha Giles. <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Ironically the character Samantha played, Bernice Blackstock, also had a storyline where she had an affair with a married man in the Dales.<\/p>\n Thankfully Claire found love again, and now co-parents two teens with her new partner.<\/p>\n The 62-year-old was grateful to become a step mum as she became unable to have biological kids due to a health battle.<\/p>\n She previously told OK!: "My ex didn\u2019t want children as he already had one and by the time we split up, I was just on the verge of missing that window.<\/p>\n "But then I started getting ill and had to have a hysterectomy, so I just accepted it wasn\u2019t meant to be for me.<\/p>\n "So when my current partner arrived in my life and I gained two teenagers, I was already well prepared. I like to think I was there for them through a few of their growing years."<\/p>\n She also revealed that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 28, which is an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain and stiffness.<\/p>\n It almost stopped her from working, and she shared that people often underestimate how much the condition affects her because it isn't visible.<\/p>\n She said: "I struggled to go to work and do the things I love, like horse-riding, because of the terrible pressure it put on my knees, I can certainly relate to the \u2018invisible disease\u2019 \u2013 although my symptoms don\u2019t always show, it doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not in pain or feeling exhausted."<\/p>\n Do you have a story for The Sun Showbiz team?<\/p>\n Email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 0207 782 4220 .<\/p>\n We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/OP-OMF-CHAS-D-EMM.jpg\")
<\/picture>TRICKSTER DANGER <\/span><\/p>\nChas in danger as villain Harry seduces her in revenge plot in Emmerdale<\/h3>\n
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Most read in TV<\/h2>\n
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<\/picture>the one? <\/span><\/p>\nEnders’ Shona McGarty sparks engagement rumours just months after finding new love<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture>‘HE’LL BE MISSED’ <\/span><\/p>\nNCIS & Man From U.N.C.L.E. ‘gentleman’ star David McCallum dies aged 90<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture>OH BABY <\/span><\/p>\nJeremy Kyle reveals wife is pregnant and he’ll be a dad for the SIXTH time aged 58<\/h3>\n
We pay for your stories!<\/h3>\n