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.
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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.
Reception
For his portrayal of Tom, Farrington was nominated for Best Soap Actor at the 2005 TV Quick & TV Choice Awards. At The British Soap Awards, Charity and Tom's wedding won the Best Single Episode accolade, while Farrington was nominated for Best Actor. The following year, Farrington was one of five actors nominated for Spectacular Scene of the Year for "Home Farm blows up", along with Bracknell, Miles, Kemp and Whipp. In 2007, he received a nomination for Best Actor, while his character was nominated for Villain of the Year and his exit, dubbed "Who killed Tom King?", was nominated for Best Storyline.
Aware of Sadie's scheming ahead of Tom and Charity's wedding, Sarah Moolla of The People reckoned "a happy-ever-after is looking unlikely for the old King and his ex-hooker bride-to-be."
When the character lamented his isolation from the local residents, Imogen Ridgway of the Evening Standard quipped "Um, why do you think that might be? Perhaps it's because his eldest sons lord it over the rest of the villagers. Could it be his unpopular housing development? Even Zoe the nice lesbian blew up his new home." She also pointed out that his involvement in poisoning the cows and ruining Paddy's business had yet to be revealed, so upon learning that Tom was being taken out to dinner in a bid to cheer him up, Ridgeawy stated "Somewhere other than Emmerdale might be a good idea."
Mike Bradley of The Guardian branded Tom "evil" for bringing Peter to the village and forcing Edna to reveal she is not his mother. While discussing how Farrington left Coronation Street as his character became more like the villainous JR Ewing from Dallas, Alan Shaw of the Sunday Post commented "he was more than happy to be the evil Ewing's equivalent in Emmerdale!"
The character's exit was named as one of the "Top 5 deaths" of 2006 in an Inside Soap feature, with writers Alison Maloney and Steven Murphy stating: Big-shot businessman Tom may have been a high-flyer, but he dropped like a stone when he tumbled out of a first-floor window at Home Farm."