Matthew King is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Matt Healy. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 March 2004. Matthew arrived as part of the King family, a family of successful businessmen. During his time on the show, Matthew had relationships with several women and was engaged to Anna De Souza (Emma Davies) when he died. Matthew's last appearance was on 16 December 2008.
Casting In January 2004, The Sun announced that Emmerdale would bring in "three new single 'hunks who are all brothers in an attempt to increase the sex appeal of the serial. They announced that the siblings would arrive in February. Actor Matt Healy was cast in the role of second eldest sibling Matthew and made his first appearance on 4 March 2004, following his father Tom and brothers Jimmy and Carl who made their debut appearances in February.
Development
Characterisation During his time on the show Matthew was characterised as being the most headstrong and manipulative of the four King brothers. He was proven capable of causing chaos wherever he went, ruining relationships and even causing death. However, he was also shown to be one to stick his neck out for his family and was even hinted to have had police officer DCI Grace Barraclough (Glynis Barber) run over and killed in order to prevent his brother Carl (Tom Lister) from being taken down for the murder of their father. Matthew was also characterised as a notorious womaniser, enjoying flings with the likes of Louise Appleton (Emily Symons). He is arguably best remembered for his affair with his brother Jimmy's (Nick Miles) wife Sadie (Patsy Kensit), which helped to show that the character would go to any lengths to get his own way. Another more vulnerable side of Matthew was shown through his romantic liaison with Perdita Hyde-Sinclair (Georgia Slowe), the wife of Matthew's stepbrother Grayson Sinclair (Christopher Villiers). Matthew and Perdita's relationship helped viewers to relate to Matthew's more romantic side. His more vulnerable side was also explored through his relationship with former fiancé Anna De Souza (Emma Davies). In a storyline that saw Matthew revert to his old ruthless self after he withheld Anna's father Donald De Souza's (Michael Jayston) pills would later lead to the character's demise and comeuppance for his past cunning actions.
Who Killed Tom King? On 8 August 2006 it was announced that Ken Farrington, who played Matthew's onscreen father Tom, had quit. Producers announced that the character of Tom King would be killed off in a dramatic whodunit? storyline.". It was later revealed that ten suspects for the murder had been revealed, and that Matthew and his brothers were among the ten suspects. The storyline lengthened out from Tom's murder on his wedding day on 25 December 2006 before culminating in the killer being revealed on 17 May 2007. During the storyline Matthew was placed as one of the favorites to be revealed as the killer. The identity of the killer was revealed on 17 May 2007 when all three King brothers stood trial after being accused of conspiring to kill their father after false evidence was given (by this time it had been revealed that either one or all of the King brothers had committed the crime after a secret eleventh ending which sees the trio killing their father was filmed.) Although the episode saw all three brothers avoid prison the episode culminated in Matthew accusing Jimmy of the murder. However, at the end of the episode, the culprit was revealed to be neither Matthew nor Jimmy when Carl confessed to murdering their father.
Departure and death On 5 August 2008, Healy announced that he was quitting the show after nearly five years on the show, telling the Daily Star that "After five years of wearing Matthew's suits every morning and having to shave every day, I feel ready to pull on some Bermuda shorts and grow a goatie!" However, he went on to state: "But I've had a brilliant time at Emmerdale and I'm excited about what lies ahead." Series producer Anita Turner said of Healy's decision to quit "Matthew King will leave Emmerdale in an explosive storyline. We wish Matt all the very best." The storyline that lead up to Matthew's "explosive" exit saw him become romantically entangled with newcomer Anna De Souza (Emma Davies), the daughter of Matthew's archenemy and business rival Donald De Souza (Michael Jayston). The storyline saw Matthew and Anna become engaged before Matthew accidentally causes an interfering Donald to die after withholding his heart pills. The storyline then came to a shocking climax on 16 December 2008 when Matthew's brother Carl discovered everything about his brother's deception, prompting him to confront Matthew at his ill fated-wedding day to Anna that led to Carl exposing Matthew's role in Donald's death; causing Anna to abandon the ill-fated wedding before Matthew and Carl engaged in a violent confrontation whilst Jimmy desperately tried to stop them. The episode culminated with Matthew, having disowned Carl for ruining his wedding whilst blaming him for their father's death during a conversation with Jimmy, intending to run down his brother in a van until he notices Anna standing close towards Carl, causing him to swerve and get himself catapulted from the crash, resulting in his death in the process.
Storylines When the Kings arrived in 2004, Matthew was always the most calculating and scheming of his family. The second son of business supremo Tom King (Ken Farrington), Matthew always had a much darker side than his brothers.
Matthew first arrived in the village to join his brothers and father. The Kings had won a contract and were celebrating at the time. Matthew's heartless nature was shown when Carl (Tom Lister) was involved in the accidental death of postman Paul Marsden (Matthew Booth). Having moved the body and covered up Carl's involvement, Matthew conned Paul's widow, Siobhan (Abigail Fisher), into selling him the cottage at a knockdown price. She left the area with her unborn baby.
At the funeral of one of Tom's closest friends, Matthew bedded the deceased's daughter before using squeeze Sian to make his next conquest Louise Appleton (Emily Symons) jealous. What Matthew wanted, he got, and it didn't take him long to convince Louise to have an affair with him. However, as soon as Louise left Terry for him, Matthew lost interest. She didn't take it well and one night, in The Woolpack, she warned Jimmy to keep an eye on Sadie. Stunned that Louise had guessed the truth, Matthew began almost stalking Louise to make sure she kept her mouth shut, but she warned him about what happened to men who mistreated her. Louise went home for a holiday as she needed to clear her head. In 2005, Matthew began a relationship with Jimmy's estranged wife, Sadie King (Patsy Kensit). They had dated before, but she chose Jimmy, thinking he would inherit the family business. Their affair brought out Matthew's more vulnerable side. Eventually, he was in a position to take over his father's business empire, but Jimmy revealed the affair with Sadie. Tom made Matthew choose and he chose the business. However, he couldn't live without Sadie and ruined her wedding to Alasdair Sinclair (Ray Coulthard) by declaring his love. Sadie encouraged him to deceive his family to gain a lucrative contract, which made them disown him. After Matthew discovered Sadie was responsible for the show home collapse, he was furious. Furthermore, Matthew discovered that in the wreckage following the disaster, Sadie had hit Jimmy over the head with a brick. Matthew was heartbroken when he realised that Sadie didn't care that a small child had lost his mother and told her that their relationship was over and he never wanted to see her again.
When Tom was murdered on Christmas Day 2006, Matthew suspected his stepmother Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson) of committing the crime. However, there was evidence that the King brothers had killed Tom and they were charged with conspiracy to murder but the trial collapsed due to lack of evidence. Matthew attacked Jimmy, thinking he was responsible and was shocked to discover Carl was responsible and Jimmy knew. Matthew was devastated, but this didn't stop him and his brothers threatening to kill Rosemary if she didn't sign Home Farm Estates over to them. Terrified, Rosemary agreed and moved into Mill Cottage with her son and daughter-in-law.
The most defining relationship Matthew had was with Perdita Hyde-Sinclair (Georgia Slowe). Matthew took a keen interest in Perdita, having had a one-night stand with her. This deepened into friendship and they became close, supporting each other when necessary. He wanted a more intimate relationship, but she stayed with her husband, Grayson Sinclair (Christopher Villiers). Matthew realised Rosemary was responsible for Perdita's troubles after Rosemary drugged her and had her sectioned. He supported Perdita as he felt responsible for Rosemary moving into Mill Cottage and they grew closer. Perdita, however, struggled with her feelings for him as she wanted to make her marriage work, especially after she discovered Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward), now her surrogate, was pregnant. Matthew stunned Perdita by telling her he would wait for her and raise the baby as his own, if it meant he could be with her. Perdita was thrilled and they carried on their affair but Grayson found out and framed Matthew for his mother's "murder". Perdita realised Matthew wasn't guilty when she found evidence and a letter from Rosemary, sent from Miami. Perdita told Grayson that she knew and demanded he clear Matthew's name. She kept the cardigan and used it to blackmail Grayson for sole custody of the baby. She promised, in return, that she wouldn't tell the police that he had helped frame Matthew. She left him on Christmas Day 2007 and moved in with Matthew. However, this only lasted three months as Matthew discovered Perdita had attacked Katie so she almost miscarried and Grayson told him that she knew about the attempt to frame him. Matthew was so horrified that he threw her out and ended their relationship. When she went to see him a few days later, he told her he'd slept with her to upset Grayson.