Claire King on the dramatic Emmerdale Christmas story that will see fans gripped

If you want to test the patience of Emmerdale stalwart Claire King send her a text message using the latest abbreviations or slang. “I’m old fashioned,” she smiles.

“I still write texts with correct spelling and grammar. I was listening to a couple of the kids in the cast, who are maybe in their late 20s, and they were saying, ‘oh, I never write’.

“I was shocked. I still write Christmas cards, I write notes on my scripts and I write lists. I said ‘how can you not write?’ They said, ‘I don’t know if I could hold a pen now.’ I thought, ‘Oh my good Lord!’ I think it’s appalling people can’t write!”

At 62 she is one of the show’s longest-serving cast members. Claire spent 10 years in Emmer-dale in the 1990s and then, after two decades away, rejoined in 2018.

A lot has changed in that time, including the advent of social media and smart phones.

But Claire is not convinced all this technological progress has necessarily been for the better.

“In the 90s we didn’t have social media, so we had a certain amount of privacy,” she reflects.

“People weren’t taking photos of you on phones and posting them all over, so it was a lot easier.

“And you could still phone friends and arrange to meet for dinner and they would all turn up, just from one call. It was a lot simpler life and it wasn’t as flaky.

“There weren’t WhatsApp groups with people posting, ‘running L8’.

“Everyone spelt correctly and used grammar!” she laughs.

Claire joined in 1989. As lady of the manor Kim – queen of the withering put-downs – she has created one of the show’s most memorable and best-loved characters. Yet despite her screen success, Claire’s priorities initially lay elsewhere.

She reveals: “Music was my first love – I actually wanted to be Debbie Harry. I just fell into acting via music really.”

Growing up in Harrogate, north Yorkshire, Claire did sing in her school choir. But by 17 her singing had taken a very different path. She dyed her hair orange, left school, bought a leather jacket and became the singer in a punk band called To Be Continued.

The group had some success, touring Holland supporting acts including The Ramones and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

It was when she moved to London in her early 20s that she fell into acting: “I was going out with someone in a band and Ade Edmondson was directing their video.

When he found out I could ride a motorbike he told me he was doing another video with Elvis Costello and needed someone to ride a bike and drive him through the gates of hell. So, I did!”

Claire also dipped her toe into the world of reality television, taking part in , Celebrity Big Brother and Safari School, with mixed results.

“The only one I enjoyed was Safari School,” she admits candidly. “It was filmed in South Africa and I trained as a game warden, which was one of the things I wanted to do as a kid.

“The rest I didn’t really enjoy. Strictly was just relentless and with my arthritis probably wasn’t the best thing to do.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do a lot now,” she says ruefully. “I was asked many years ago, but I couldn’t, because I was working on something else. If I was a lot fitter, healthier and younger, then it would be great.”

Her return to in 2018 after 20 years away was a surprise to many, but for Claire it seemed a logical decision.

“Obviously they’d asked over the years, but it was a case of timing,” she explains.

“You get to a point where you’re settled in your life, my parents were getting older and I just wanted to be back home near them. I lost my father in September unfortunately, so my mum is on her own – so it’s just as well I am back.”

Home is north Yorkshire, where she lives in the countryside with her businessman partner.

A qualified jockey when she was younger, she still loves riding whenever she gets the chance. That includes doing her own riding scenes in the show, despite suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

“I was diagnosed in my late 20s and need daily painkillers and weekly injections,” she says. “I try to exercise and I follow the Mediterranean diet, but my body tells me when I’m overdoing it.”

bosses are aware that long days filming in the cold can trigger an attack, so they do their best to keep her character indoors during the winter months. “It’s freezing out in the village,” Claire shivers.

“But they know about my arthritis and they’re really good.

“They don’t get me out too much in winter, so Kim tends to live in Home Farm an awful lot.

“And comfort comes first. I haven’t worn high heels for decades. Everyone thinks Kim is so glamorous and that she wears stilettoes and mini-skirts, but she wears jeans, boots, a shirt and a jacket – I just have to.”

With Christmas around the corner, Claire reveals she is in charge of the festive cooking for herself, her partner, her 85 year-old mum, and her brother and his partner.

Not surprisingly, her on-screen Christmas promises to be far more turbulent. Regular viewers know that Kim appears oblivious to the fact husband Will, played by Dean Andrews, is plotting with her financial advisor to take her down.

On Christmas Eve she sets off for a ride, but shortly afterwards her horse is found wandering alone with Kim nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, at Home Farm a Christmas tree lies on the ground, with evidence of a struggle.

This is the kind of drama that has kept viewers hooked. “My father was a massive fan,” Claire says wistfully. “He loved seeing me in it and wouldn’t miss it. He was a very proud dad.

“When I was at , I remember Jimmi Harkishin, who played Dev Alahan, asking me, ‘so, what do you prefer, or ?’ And I said – which is probably why I ended up leaving – ‘if you cut me in two, I would bleed .’ I have no regrets about not making it as the next Debbie Harry. has treated me very well.”

● airs weekdays at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays