Tom King is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, who appeared on the show from 29 February 2004 before being killed off on 25 December 2006 in a long-running "whodunit" storyline dubbed, "Who Killed Tom King?". He was last seen on 27 December 2006 as a dead body in a morgue. Throughout his time on the show he was portrayed by Kenneth Farrington. Farrington decided to leave the show in 2006 but reprised the role briefly as a ghost in a "Text Santa" special on 20 December 2013.
Development Farrington was contacted about joining the cast of Emmerdale in late 2003. The offer "came out of the blue", and he said that he never expected to get the role. He was cast as Tom King, the patriarch of the serial's newest family, and introduced alongside his on-screen sons in February 2004. In order to give Tom links to the other characters, it was established that he was "an old friend" of Emmerdale legend Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), whose daughter Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) was still in the show. One of Tom's first moves is to offer Zoe "a huge sum" for the Tate family house, Home Farm. Farrington revealed in June 2004 that Tom was meant to die or at least leave the serial after six months, with his sons left to compete for "the King empire." However, he was later told that would not be happening. The King family received a positive reaction from viewers, which pleased Farrington. He said he was happy at Emmerdale, and was content to settle down and stay for as long as he was needed. This was in contrast to his role of Billy Walker in fellow soap Coronation Street, which saw him make several returns and exits, as he was "fed up" of playing just one character.
One of the character's first major storylines was a romance with his secretary, the much younger Charity Tate (Emma Atkins). After a few months, Tom proposes to Charity who accepts. Farrington admitted that when he first read the scripts and saw that Tom was going to propose, he was "embarrassed" as he thought the age gap between the pair was too big. He found it "pretty arrogant" for a 65 year old man to consider himself a possibility for such a young woman. He explained "When you reach that age, you have a fear of rejection – I know because I've passed it! You wouldn't put yourself forward for a relationship, let alone with a young woman, in case they said no." Farrington justified the proposal with the fact that Charity is the one who has done all the chasing. He also thought Charity had been clever in the way she got Tom, saying she had made "a big impression" on his character with the way she stands her ground and how she has made something of herself, which Tom respects. Before the proposal, Charity returns to work after being unfairly sacked for stealing. Farrington said she is aloof with Tom, which frustrates him as he does not like being ignored. He later witnesses her flirting with Syd Woolfe (Nathan Gladwell). Helen Crossley of Inside Soap stated that Tom's proposal is not prompted by jealousy, but rather he thinks that Charity could do more with her life than flirt with all the men in the village. Farrington told her that Tom feels like he is in a position to save Charity from "the futureless existence of being a Dingle". He added "I wouldn't say they're romantically in love, but he does have a deep fondness for her. And, of course, Charity's thrilled because her meal ticket's come in!" The storyline pushed Farrington and his character to the forefront of Emmerdale for June/July.
Farrington's departure from the serial was announced on 8 August 2006. He cited his desire to move on from the role, having stayed longer than the six months he had originally planned for. He added that he had enjoyed his time with the show. Series producer Kathleen Beedles stated: "Ken has been an asset to the show and will be greatly missed but his exit storyline is going to be extremely dramatic and memorable for viewers, which we're very excited about." Digital Spy's Kris Green said rumours about how Tom's exit storyline would play out included him being shot or "catapulted through a church window." He reported that a source had told him that the character's exit would be "one to remember".
Storylines Tom goes to the local graveyard to lay flowers on the grave of his late wife, Mary, who had died in 1986. Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) does the same, leading to the pair talking about their late wives, and Tom reveals that he had grown up in Emmerdale, where his father ran a successful business, and he was keen to return. Tom, founder of his own haulage firm, eventually decides to move back to Emmerdale, but has trouble re-establishing his haulage firm there. To get some inside information on his key competitor, Tate Haulage, Tom sends his son Carl King (Tom Lister) to get a job there and act as a spy. When Carl finds out that Tate Haulage plans to bid for a valuable contract, Tom undercuts them to win it, moving himself, his family and his haulage firm into Emmerdale. Tom runs King & Sons with his sons, Jimmy (Nick Miles), Matthew (Matt Healy) and Carl, while Jimmy's ambitious ex-wife Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) also proves influential.
After the Kings establish themselves as the new top dogs of the village, replacing the Tates, Tom begins a relationship with the much younger widow Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins). However, while Charity genuinely cares for Tom, he has trouble believing an attractive young woman is really interested in him and not his money – especially as most of the village believes Charity had married her late husband Chris Tate (Peter Amory) for the same reason. Things change when Tom's close friend Roger Dyson (Malcolm Terris) dies of a heart attack while playing golf. Deciding life is too short, Tom proposes to Charity, who accepts. They hold an engagement party in The Woolpack, however, Tom's family, particularly Sadie, are less than impressed, fearing Tom will leave his fortune to Charity rather than them.
On the day of the wedding, Sadie gives Tom photos of Charity kissing her cousin and former lover Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley). Tom jilts Charity at the altar, sparking a fight between the Kings and the Dingle family. Tom is convinced Sadie is the only person out for his best interests; however, Charity is determined to clear her name. To hurt both Tom and Sadie, Charity seduces Jimmy and secretly records him admitting to how Sadie set her up. At Jimmy's 40th birthday party, Charity marches in and plays the video. Tom is furious with Sadie and begs Charity to take him back, but she refuses, saying that she no longer loves him. She then leaves Emmerdale.
After returning for the wedding, Tom's youngest son Max (Charlie Kemp) prepares to leave Emmerdale to continue his around-the-world trip with his girlfriend Amy Carter (Bethany Webb). Keen to keep his son in Emmerdale, Tom persuades local vet Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) to give Max a job, with Tom covering his salary. Max subsequently breaks up with Amy and moves into Holdgate Farm with Tom, Matthew and Carl. However, when he later discovers the truth, Max becomes tired of his father dictating his life and plans to flee the village with friend Robert Sugden (Karl Davies). The plan ends in tragedy when Robert crashes the car, which explodes with Max inside, killing him instantly. Tom is devastated when he realises he virtually drove his youngest son to his death.
Determined to get back into Tom's good books, Sadie blackmails Zoe Tate (Bracknell) into selling Home Farm – the Tate family home, which Tom dreamed of owning – to Tom. However, in an act of revenge, Zoe deliberately sabotages the gas pipes and the house explodes just as the Kings arrive, leaving Tom with a huge refurbishment bill. Tom lets Sadie back into the family fold and, with Sadie's marriage to Jimmy in tatters, Tom begins to wonder if her feelings for him are more than those of a "daughter". Tom confides in Sadie that he is considering retiring and handing over the business to one of his sons. Sadie steers Tom towards placing Matthew in charge.
As Matthew is a much better businessman than Jimmy, Sadie gets her way when Tom decides to hand the business over to Matthew. However, just as Tom is about to sign the deal, Jimmy arrives and reveals Matthew and Sadie are having an affair. Tom does not believe Jimmy at first, but when Tom mistakenly believes Sadie is making a romantic advance towards him, Matthew reveals the truth. Matthew does not believe Sadie was not pursuing Tom, and when Tom makes Matthew choose between Sadie and the business, he choses the business. However, when Sadie subsequently marries the rich Alasdair Sinclair (Ray Coulthard) for his money, Matthew realises he cannot live without her and begs her for another chance, saying he will give up the business if he has to. Faced with potentially losing another son, Tom accepts Matthew and Sadie as a couple.
Tom's next business venture is a housing development called Kings River. The village residents are divided, as most of them cannot afford the prices the Kings are asking. To get around the opposition, Carl raffles off the showhouse and rigs the competition for local couple Marlon and Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth) to win, creating goodwill in the community. However, Jimmy cuts corners during the development, and the showhouse is destroyed by a gas explosion at the launch of the development, killing Dawn Woods (Julia Mallam), Noreen Bell (Jenny Tomasin), and David Brown (Peter Alexander). Jimmy is trapped in the house, along with Sadie, who attempts to kill him. Jimmy survives, and when Matthew discovers what happened, he ends his relationship with Sadie. She then plots with Cain to kidnap Tom and demand a £2.5 million ransom. When he takes Tom hostage, Cain fakes kidnapping Sadie too, even shooting and supposedly killing her to show he means business. Tom is traumatised, but after his sons pay the ransom, it is revealed Sadie's "death" was a stunt. Cain flees Emmerdale with the money, double-crossing Sadie in the process and forcing her to leave the village penniless.
Following the kidnapping and the failure of Kings River, Tom finds himself in dire financial straits. He decides to marry the seemingly wealthy Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson). They proceeded to form a romantic partnership together as Rosemary grows interested in Tom's proposal. Matthew discovers that Rosemary's estate had been liquidated a year ago; Rosemary confirms to Tom that she is deeply in debt, stating that he was the better off between the two of them. Despite learning of her secret, Tom goes ahead with the engagement. By then, Rosemary's son Grayson Sinclair (Christopher Villiers) – who was worried he would be pushed aside by the King Brothers – was warming up to Tom. However, their relationship soon becomes strained when Rosemary confides in Tom that Grayson has had affairs with men behind his wife Perdita's (Georgia Slowe) back. Tom later jokes about the revelation with his old friend and local police superintendent Charles Vaughan (Richard Cole), antagonising Grayson in the process.