Emmerdale casts Kim Tate’s son Jamie and teases arrival

TV newcomer Alexander Lincoln will play the grown-up James who is estranged from his mean mum and has not been in touch with her for some time. Back in 1999 he fled with Kim (Claire King) in a helicopter, and returns to his childhood home in the coming weeks making what is promised to be an explosive entrance – but there is no love lost between the relatives.

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“Kim sent Jamie to private school when she went to prison then he went on to university,” reveals King, discussing her fictional child with RadioTimes.com. “He doesn’t like the way Kim acts and never visited her in jail so they’ve had this estrangement for a length of time and she is desperate to see him again.”

Since Kim’s comeback the character has been mentioned several times, with Mrs Tate’s sidekick Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) revealing recently he’d been in touch with Jamie who he promised to put her back in contact with if she gave up her vendetta against step grandson Joe (Ned Porteous) and the Dingles.

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“Jamie basically wants nothing to do with Kim,” says Lincoln. “He comes to the village to start a new job (his half-sister Zoe used to run the veterinary practice) and doesn’t even know his mum is out of prison. She tries to bring him back into the fold, even though he wants to distance himself from her and the Tate legacy.

“Unlike Kim, Jamie is innocent and naïve. He’s a good guy and is constantly saying he’s not like his mum, but can be easily manipulated by her.”

What else has the actor playing Jamie been in?

The soap’s biggest villain having an angelic son is a neat twist to the Tate family dynamic and King hints it could unlock a softer side to her acidic alter ego.

“Jamie will probably influence Kim in a certain way when it comes to her feud with the Dingles, maybe she’ll have some kinder words for them in the future? Jamie hopes Kim has changed, but she hasn’t!”

Lincoln seems to be filling the posh totty vacancy left by Porteous, who departed last year, but he’s taking it in his stride. “I’ve been called the new village hunk which I didn’t even know was a possibility, but I’ll take it!” laughs the actor, who is embarking on his first major TV part after playing roles in some UK feature films and co-running his own production company, Lowkey Films.

“It’s fine. I’ve got a lot to live up to but it’s great to be here, everyone has been so welcoming, particularly Claire who has been holding my hand. I screen tested with her and must admit I didn’t know my lines off by heart as I’d been working until 1am on a film the night before, I was holding my script out of shot and nervously sweating away so I owe a lot to her for walking me through it!”

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