Tom is as evil as his dad – a complete list of Carl King’s heinous crimes
Like father, like son for Tom and Carl King
It was almost like Carl King returned to Emmerdale over the last few days as his son, Tom King, and his unhinged behaviour continue to mirror that of his evil father.
In fact, the scales have even fallen from devoted Uncle Jimmy’s eyes after Tom’s arrest. Jimmy calls him a ‘chip off the old block’ tonight and he’s sure got a point.
So it’s a case of like father, like son, but which King is more evil? Let’s take a look at the complete list of Carl King‘s terrible crimes.
Killer Carl King in Emmerdale
Carl King was in Emmerdale for eight years between 2004-2012. He arrived in the village to spy for his family business King & Sons, snooping on Tate Haulage.
He set his sights on Louise Appleton, asking her out on a date, but when his wife Coleen turned up, things got complicated. That put paid to that romance.
And then things turned dark. It was not long after his arrival that he caused the death of local postman Paul Marsden. The pair were fixing a roof together and Paul started teasing Carl over his fear of heights. As they continued to mess around, Paul lost his footing and fell. Carl and his brothers covered up the death by moving the body so it looked like he had had an accident on his own roof, completely on his own.
Cheating Carl
Consumed by guilt, Carl ended up revealing what had happened to Chas Dingle. The pair started a relationship, but Carl’s wandering eye soon struck and he had a one-night stand with Chloe Atkinson. Chloe then became determined to split the couple up. She wrote poison-pen letters and Chas had soon had enough, ending things.
Chloe moved in for the kill and Carl obliged, but soon got bored and wanted Chas back. She, however, left to join the army!
So he turned his attentions to her cousin, Delilah Dingle. Although they grew close and did sleep together, his heart lay with Chas and he eventually wooed her back.
They made a real go of it this time, but that was much to the disapproval of his dad, Tom King Snr. And that led to…
Killer Carl King’s second victim in Emmerdale
The King family were at war as Matthew and Sadie’s rival company took on King & Sons. Chas was passing information on the Kings to Jamie Hope, whose sister Dawn Woods had died thanks to the Kings’ battle. Furious Tom insisted Chas wasn’t good enough for Carl and then bribed her to end things.
But Chas fought back and told Carl everything on Tom’s wedding day to Rosemary Sinclair. That same day, which also happened to be Christmas Day, Tom was murdered when he was hit over the head and pushed from his bedroom window. It was later revealed Carl had a confrontation with his father about Chas and hit him when Tom called Chas nasty names. Carl then pushed Tom away and he fell out of the window.
In the midst of all this, Carl started dating DCI Grace Barraclough, who was investigating Tom’s murder! So that soon got complicated and Carl decided to confess, telling Grace everything. She took him to the police station, but was hit by a lorry as she was walking across the road. Carl then got away with murder – and things ended with Grace, pretty badly!
Cheating Carl strikes again!
Carl eventually moved on and married Lexi King although he only married her because she found out the truth about Tom’s murder. Things soon turned sour and Lexi left him. Carl got back with Chas but that wandering eye fell on Eve Jenson, with whom he started an affair.
Chas found out about the affair and decided to expose Carl on her and Carl’s wedding day. She convinced him they were going to get wed (on Christmas Day again!), but secretly squirrelled all his money away and jilted him at the altar.
The worst crime yet
Chas began an affair with Cameron Murray who was engaged to her niece Debbie Dingle. Chas was also engaged to Dan Spencer. Carl found out about her affair and tried to blackmail her.
Chas pretended that she was interested in Carl again but really she was just trying to make him take back his threats.
It all came to a head on Emmerdale’s 40th anniversary in 2012. Carl turned really nasty and blackmailed Chas for the £30k she took from him. However the hate turned to obsession as Carl decided he’d stop at nothing to get Chas back.
Chas tried to keep him sweet by pretending she would run away with him, but when he realised she had no intention doing so, Carl flipped. He revealed he had killed his father for her. Disgusted Chas tried to flee, but Carl grabbed her and forced himself on her, trying to rape her.
Chas hit Carl on the head with a brick in self-defence. Believing she had killed him, she left him lying there. Chas even stood trial for his murder, but she was acquitted.
Meanwhile, what actually happened was Cameron went back and delivered the final blow that killed Carl who screamed: “I’m indestructible” as Cameron smacked him over the head and Carl fell to the ground, dead.
Carl King was played by actor Tom Lister. Before Emmerdale, Tom appeared in episodes of The Bill and Heartbeat. The now 47-year-old joined Emmerdale in 2004.
After leaving Emmerdale in 2012, Tom went on to appear in 42nd Street – The Musical, The Doll Maker and Doctors.
Tom Lister sets up a window-cleaning business
In 2022, it was reported that Tom had been badly affected by Covid. He revealed during an interview with Coastal Radio DAB at the time, that he’d started working as a window cleaning during the pandemic.
“I started cleaning windows for my mate’s company,” Tom explained. “I was doing it for quite a while and it was great to keep my head sane.
“And then that has really just progressed and I have actually franchised that company and I am now kind of doing it myself. So I have got customers down here in Blackpool. It’s called Aqua Bright.”
Tom’s weight loss journey
Tom also revealed the pandemic saw him pile on the pounds. In 2023 unveiled a toned and fit body.
Taking to Instagram at the time, Tom shared some topless photos of himself to share his weight loss journey with his followers. He explained that he had been working with an online coach over the last six months.
He wrote: “Covid hit me HARD in terms of lack of work opportunities, leaving me feeling a bit bereft and low on self esteem and motivation. This resulted in me piling on the weight and feeling pretty [bleep] all round.”
He then announced: “I have lost over 16kg (2.5 Stone in old money). I haven’t been this lean for over 20 years.” The pictures featured him in just his underwear to prove how fit he’s become!
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns
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