Emmerdale’s Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) is very much sticking to his decision of getting rid of Baby Tate.
The poor kid doesn’t even have a name, yet Joe can’t even bring himself to look at him. Every time he does, he feels burning resentment that Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) died giving birth to him. The baby doesn’t stand a chance against that kind of hatred.
Joe’s bitterness towards his son has grown along with his cold attitude, telling the family he knows his feelings will never change. On this basis, he made a devastating decision – the baby must be given up for adoption.
This news has been pure horror for Kim Tate (Claire King), who is desperate to keep the family together as well as prolong the Tate bloodline.
It’s also triggering her own trauma from giving up a child many years ago, whom we’ve just discovered is Detective Thea Ramsden (Chelsea Edge), who is in town with a vendetta against Kim due to the very fact Kim gave her up, not that Kim yet knows it.
For now, Kim’s biggest worry is Joe, who is unrelenting. When Dawn died, so did the good part of Joe. It was already a fragile part and only existed because of Dawn. Now only cruel Joe exists – the one who tried to ban the kids from their own mum’s funeral.
Kim arrives at the hospital and learns Joe has banned anyone seeing the baby. She begs Joe to wake up, to recognise the mistake he’s making, to understand this is all grief. But Joe is unmoved. Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) also tries to stop Joe with a hollow threat that he’ll leave if the baby goes.
It seems like it might have worked when Joe and Graham arrive at Home Farm with the baby, and Kim is thrilled. But it’s a premature popping of the champagne as Joe wastes no time in breaking her heart – the baby is here for Kim to say goodbye.
Speaking of the moment Kim realised she would be losing the baby for good, actress Claire King reveals Kim is ‘heartbroken’: ‘Kim was believing that they [Joe and the baby] were actually bonding, but then when he brings the baby home, it’s to tell her that it’s to say goodbye. He’s going to have him privately adopted. So she is absolutely heartbroken.’
Kim tries begging again, but it’s useless. She then learns that with Joe’s decision, Graham will also be sticking to his word and leaving. Kim is in bits, losing so much in one go while still grieving Dawn.
Claire King reveals Kim is devastated by Graham’s decision on top of everything else.
‘This has left Kim bereaved to a certain extent, because the man she likes, has worked with and has been married to – even though there’s little trust between them at the moment and they have to rebuild that – they are allies, and he is now leaving,’ she says.
Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) learns what Joe has done and rips into him, and alone, Joe turns to the whisky. But it’s triggered something in Kim, flash backs to her past poor choice giving up her own daughter continues to haunt her. She has no idea that her daughter, Detective Thea, is so close by.
But for now, all she can focus on is the mistake Joe is making.
‘I don’t think she can forgive Joe,’ Claire says, ‘Because she knows what she went through all those years ago, and she knows he will regret it.’ Will she find a way to get baby Tate back?


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