The King family tree: Tom King, his sons Jimmy, Matthew, Carl and Max and their tragic demise
Jimmy and Tom King Jnr are the only remaining family members on screen
The King family have had a presence in Emmerdale for two decades. In 2004, wealthy widower Tom King (Senior) arrived in the village. Along with him he brought three of his four grown up sons – Jimmy, Matthew and Carl. Youngest son Max followed later, as did Jimmy’s wife, Sadie.
The Kings became the new owners of Home Farm in 2005, and ran their successful haulage business King & Sons from the estate.
They may have had millions in the bank, but life at the big house brought the Kings nothing but misery and misfortune.
Here’s a look at all the tragedies the befell the family – who they all are and what happened to them…
Head of the King family in Emmerdale: Tom King
Tom was the former head of the King family and feared businessman, played by Ken Farrington.
He was dad of Jimmy, Matthew, Carl and Max. Tom also fathered a daughter, Scarlett, after he had an affair with her mother, Carrie Nicholls while she was caring for his terminally ill wife, Mary.
Tom was a multi-millionaire and owner of King & Sons, the haulage firm which he ran with Jimmy, Matthew, Carl and Jimmy’s then-wife Sadie.
Born into a wealthy family, Tom had grown up in Emmerdale. He was acquainted with locals including Frank Tate and Alan Turner.
In 2005, Tom took the throne at Home Farm, but his ruthless and unpleasant nature meant he wasn’t popular with many of the locals.
Tom became engaged to Charity Dingle, but jilted her at the alter after being tricked by Sadie into believing she’d cheated on him.
After losing son Max in a car crash, Tom invested in land and built The Kings River Housing development. But disaster struck on the day of the grand opening when the house exploded and killed three people.
Tom met his own grisly end on Christmas Day 2006.
He had just married gold-digging Rosemary Sinclair when he was pushed to his death off a balcony by a mystery figure – who later turned out to be his own son Carl!
Jimmy King and family in Emmerdale
James Frederick ‘Jimmy’ King is the longest-serving member of the family and played by actor Nick Miles.
He’s the eldest son of the late Tom King, and brother to the late Matthew, Carl and Max King. Jimmy is the husband of Nicola King and father of Elliot Windsor, Angelica King and Carl Holliday.
Introduced in 2004, Jimmy was initially portrayed as a cold-hearted businessman. But has since changed into a devoted family man and something of a comedy figure.
His most memorable storylines include the breakdown of his marriage to first wife Sadie King after discovering she’d bedded his brother Matthew, surviving being stabbed and suffering from amnesia after a blow to the head.
Sadie King
Superbitch Sadie was the first wife of Jimmy King and played by Patsy Kensit.
Sadie may have married into the King clan, but she was the one who held all the power. And from the moment of her dramatic arrival via helicopter in 2004, it was clear she had a gameplan.
Jimmy was besotted with Sadie and desperate to start a family with her, but as it turned out she’d only married him for the money and was really in love with his younger brother, Matthew.
Sadie cheated on Jimmy with Robert Sugden and Cain Dingle, but it was her affair with Matthew that ended their marriage.
Post-Jimmy, Sadie tried every scheme in the book to get her hands on the King family’s fortune, but even Matthew saw through her in the end.
In a final act of revenge, Sadie hatched a dastardly plan with Cain to fake her own death. Sadie made her escape from the village and hasn’t been heard of since 2007 when she sent the Kings flowers and a note in the wake of Tom’s murder.
Nicola King
Nicola is Jimmy’s feisty second wife and has been played by Nicola Wheeler since 2001.
She’s mum to their daughter Angelica and a mother figure to Jimmy’s two sons, Elliot and Carl.
Nicola and Jimmy had a fling 2009 which resulted in Nicola discovering she was 17 weeks pregnant.
Daughter Angelica ‘Angel’ was born in August of that year, and Nicola went on to become Mrs King.
The couple had a short-lived stint as landlord and landlady of The Woolpack, but Nicola found it too much of a juggle managing a busy bar and a baby.
Being a stay-at-home mum was never the life ambitious Nicola wanted. She became a councillor, although has since had to step down due to daughter Angelica’s lies over joy riding. She has shares in the cafe and is a part-owner of the Grange B&B. Meanwhile, Jimmy runs the haulage firm with Will Taylor.
Jimmy and Nicola have weathered many a storm and 2024 has been one of their toughest years yet following Angelica imprisonment for dangerous driving.
Angelica King
Angelica Mary ‘Angel’ King is the only daughter of Jimmy and Nicola King, and the half-sister of Elliot and Carl.
The character has been played by Rebecca Bakes since 2009.
Angel had a dramatic entrance into the world when she was born prematurely, then kidnapped by Carl’s wife Lexi King.
Lexi, who had tragically suffered the loss of her own baby, snatched Angel and took her up to the roof of the hospital, before Jimmy and Nicola rescued their daughter.
Angelica is currently serving time in a secure children’s home after she was responsible for a car crash that killed her friend Heath Hope.
Nicola and Jimmy tried to prevent her going to prison, but Angelica was handed an eight-month sentence.
Elliot Windsor
Elliot Windsor is the son of Jimmy King and Kelly Windsor and half-brother of Angelica King and Carl Holliday.
The character is played by Luca Hoyle.
Elliot was born in America and Jimmy didn’t even know of his existence until he was three years old.
In 2012, Elliot’s mum Kelly sent him to live with Jimmy and Nicola on a permanent basis. He sees Nicola as a mother figure and calls her mum.
Carl Holliday
Carl Holliday is Jimmy’s son with Juliette Holliday, who was conceived after a mix-up at the fertility clinic when Juliette was impregnated with the wrong man’s sperm.
After giving birth, Juliette felt she couldn’t cope with the responsibility of a child and left Carl in the care of Jimmy and Nicola.
Juliette returned to the village in 2021 in search of her son and the pair slowly started to get to know one another.
Sadly, Juliette decided motherhood ultimately wasn’t for her and went to live in New York with her boyfriend.
Matthew King – the cruellest of the King family in Emmerdale
Matthew Thomas ‘Matt’ King was the second son of Tom and Mary King, and played by Matt Healey.
He was the most cruel and manipulative of the four King brothers, and Tom’s favourite child.
The character’s heartless nature was shown early on when he helped cover up the death of postman Paul Marsden and conned his widow.
He was a ruthless womaniser too and didn’t think twice about stealing another man’s missus. And then tossing her aside when he got what he wanted.
Matthew had a torrid affair with Jimmy’s wife Sadie, which ended badly when he realised how evil she really could be.
After Tom’s murder, Matthew took control of the family business, but frequently fell out with Jimmy and Carl.
A happy ending looked to be on the cards when Matthew fell madly in love with Anna De Souza.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
On the day of their intended wedding, Anna jilted Matthew after Carl revealed he’d played a part in the death of her father Donald.
In revenge, Matthew attempted to mow Carl down in a van, but ended up crashing into a wall. He died at the scene of the crash, in Anna’s arms.
Carl King and his twisted family in Emmerdale
Carl Thomas King was the third son of Tom and Mary and played by Tom Lister.
The character was a notorious lothario and villain, who wreaked havoc in the Dales for eight years.
Carl was the first King to move to the village in 2004.
At that time he was married to first wife Colleen, with whom he shared children Anya and Tom.
Carl may have been a taken man, but that didn’t stop him pursuing other women.
When Colleen eventually threw him out, Carl embarked on a turbulent on/off romance with fellow single parent Chas Dingle.
Tom disapproved of his son being involved with Chas, and it was for that reason Carl pushed him to his death.
Carl was briefly wed to Lexi Nicholls, but admitted he only married her because she knew his killer secret.
Finding himself single again, Carl wormed his way back into Chas’s heart. He had an affair with Eve Shaw and Chas took her revenge by exposing the affair on their wedding day and jilting Carl at the altar.
But Carl’s obsession with winning Chas back proved to be his undoing.
During a dramatic final showdown in 2012, Carl attempted to rape Chas but she managed to escape after hitting him over the head with a brick.
Chas’s lover Cameron Murray then found Carl, a fight ensued, and Cameron bludgeoned Carl to death with a brick.
Carl’s death occurred during Emmerdale’s 40th anniversary live episode, which was watched by an audience of 8.8 million.
Thomas ‘Tom’ King
Thomas ‘Tom’ King is the son of Carl and Colleen King, brother of Anya King and the nephew of Jimmy King.
Tom was named after his paternal grandfather, Tom King, and has followed in his late Uncle Max’s footsteps by becoming a vet.
The character has been played by four different actors since 2004 and is currently portrayed by James Chase.
Tom is the husband of Belle Dingle, but behind closed doors has been subjecting his wife to violent abuse and coercive control.
Tom showed signs of having a dark side from an early age.
He blamed Chas for his father’s murder and subjected her to a campaign of terror – sending disturbing photographs and making anonymous threatening calls.
Tom’s stalking was eventually discovered and he went to live with his mum in Saudi Arabia in 2013.
He returned to the Dales a decade later and charmed his way into Belle’s affections.
Since their marriage in February 2024, Tom has been subjecting Belle to a horrendous campaign of physical and mental abuse.
Anya King
The daughter of Carl and Colleen King and the sister of Tom King Jnr, Anya has never been a regular character, but has appeared on screen numerous times.
Anya moved with her mum to Saudi Arabia in 2010, but returned with Thomas at Christmas for her dad’s wedding to Chas. However, she left swiftly after the disastrous ceremony.
She then made her final appearance in 2012 after her father’s death. Brother Tom has mentioned her since his return, commenting that they are not close.
But could we see Anya reappear at some point soon?
Max King – the youngest son
Maxwell Harold ‘Max’ King was the youngest son of Tom and Mary King, played by Charlie Kemp.
He was the brother of Jimmy, Matthew and Carl King, as well as the half-brother of Scarlett Nicholls.
Max arrived in Emmerdale in early 2005, almost a year after the introduction of the rest of the King clan.
Unlike his money-hungry brothers, Max had zero interest in the family firm. He’d trained at university to become a vet and spent time travelling the world.
In late 2005, Tom bullied Max into helping him acquire some land by poisoning the animals that belonged to the owners.
Unable to live with the guilt of what he’d done, Max decided to flee the village – but was killed in a car crash on his way out.
He was only 25-years-old.
Scarlett Nicholls
Tom King Senior’s illegitimate daughter with Carrie Nicholls, who nursed his wife Mary as she was dying of cancer, was only revealed to her half brother’s after Tom’s death. His will revealed he had left her 25 percent of Home Farm and 10 percent of King & Sons, to be held in trust until her 18th birthday.
Scarlett was born in 1991 and met her brothers when she was 15. She became close to Jimmy and decided to stay under Jimmy’s care when Carrie emigrated to Canada. However after being betrayed by brother Carl and boyfriend Adam Barton cheated on her, Scarlett left for Canada too in 2011.
She returned after Carl’s death in 2012 and supported Jimmy during the will reading. However she then went back to Canada and hasn’t been seen since.
Scarlett was played by Kelsey-Beth Crossley.
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