Emmerdale viewers have been sharing their concern for Kim Tate across social media

Fans of Emmerdale believe they’ve worked out Kim Tate’s exit after 37 years on the ITV soap.

Soap viewers will know that Kim (played by Claire King) made her first appearance in the Dales back in 1989. The ruthless businesswoman has played a part in several memorable storylines over the years.

From her many feuds with the locals to even faking her own death, Kim’s time in Emmerdale has not been short of drama. She’s also faced her fair share of trauma, following her husband Will Taylor’s (Dean Andrews) unexpected death during Christmas 2024, which was brought on by the return of her step-grandson, Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

Joe arrived back in the village as part of his scheme to take Kim down, after she tried to kill him six years ago. The pair have since made amends and have recently been working together to take ownership of Butler’s Farm.

READ MORE: Emmerdale fans ‘work out’ what happens next to Cain Dingle in Joe Tate twistREAD MORE: Does Cain die in Emmerdale? Exit ‘sealed’ after 26 years and fans are heartbroken

The residents of Home Farm had a lot to celebrate this week, after Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) reluctantly signed away her shares to Kim from behind bars.

During Wednesday’s (March 11) episode, which is now available to stream on ITVX, Kim shared her frustrations with Joe, after he gleefully revealed the farm news to Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) – who had just told his family about his prostate cancer diagnosis.

“We all like a bit of trouble, but this deal’s everything, and I specifically said not to rub it in,” Kim said, with Joe replying: “I couldn’t resist.”

Speaking about the farm’s prospects, Kim added: “It’ll take time to turn things around, but I will,” before telling Joe that she wanted to be privy to all farm decisions going forward.

Later, Cain paid Kim a visit to discuss his situation. He believed that Kim took advantage of his wife, declaring: “I’d rather burn that place down than let you have it.”

Kim made it clear that Moira called her, and urged Cain not to make Moira feel worse than she already does. The businesswoman then extended an olive branch, saying that Cain and his kids could stay at the farm for as long as they need.

Cain quickly interjected, saying: “We’ll be out soon as. You know you’ve taken the very thing that made [Moira] what she is… I’m gonna survive this and then I’m going to come after you, and rip everything you’ve got to shreds.”

Emmerdale viewers seem to believe that Cain’s words could ring true. Some eagle-eyed fans have also noticed a change in the soap’s ITVX banner, with Kim and Joe taking centre stage, alongside Sam (James Hooton) and Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick).

Viewers are now suspecting that the photo could indicate an upcoming “who killed Kim” storyline, following the recent tensions between the Tates and the Dingles.

“Kim, Joe, Sam and Lydia take over as the faces of Emmerdale on ITVX,” one person noted on Reddit, with another adding: “They’re gonna do a who killed Kim storyline, Joe will find out and Lydia inherits everything.”

A third said: “If it was just Kim and Joe, I’d say a new feud, but could it be a hint of Kim working against Joe or a whodunnit?” with another viewer echoing the sentiment, saying: “It usually means trouble is on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, another fan believes that the image could be sign of Joe’s upcoming downfall. They wrote: “I hope they just do a who shot Joe storyline (like Robert’s at the end of 2015). I would hate to see Joe killed off – he is a superb actor, villain, and character. He definitely needs to be the village punching bag for a while though.”