Soap legend Claire King has spoken about why she decided to leave Coronation Street.
The actress joined the soap in 2014, playing Erica Holroyd before leaving in 2017. The following year she returned to Emmerdale as her role of the iconic Kim Tate.
Claire said she had fond memories of her time on the show, telling OK! Magazine: "Corrie was a completely different set-up and character. I loved Erica.
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"It was great working with Beverley Callard (Liz McDonald), as we were good mates and had a good laugh. For some reason, they split us up! And it was great working with Jimmi (Harkishin, Dev Alahan) too – but then they split us up as well!"
Speaking about why she left, she said: "Erica was left as a sort of pinball – with no family she was kind of left out on a bit of a limb.
"Then a new producer came in and made these changes to my role, which, in my experience, is a sign they don't like your character – which they're perfectly entitled to do. It was a bit of a shame, though, because Erica was an audience favourite. It just wasn't worth my time driving all the way over to Manchester to film stuff I wasn't really enjoying, so I left and that was it."
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Claire, who is also known for her role as Karen Betts in Bad Girls, added why she loves the character of Kim Tate so much.
"I like the fact she speaks straight from the heart," she said. "She's probably too honest and direct, and sometimes offensive with that. Usually, it's a means to an end for her benefit. She gets away with murder!
"It's great for me, as I get it all out of my system through playing her and then I'm chilled! I also love the fact she does have an Achilles' heel with her son."
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage.
Catherine was Digital Spy's News Editor between 2018 and 2024. Prior to that she worked at OK! Online, and has interviewed a slew of celebrities across her career in entertainment news, including Tom Hanks, Cheryl and Noel Fielding. Catherine also has specialist knowledge in all things drag, interviewing a huge portion of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, and getting her own drag makeover for Channel 4’s show Drag SOS. LinkedIn