Rosemary King in Emmerdale: Cruel tricks, murder plot and a very grisly end!
She definitely got her comeuppance in the end!
Rosemary King is currently making Sadie’s life a misery in Classic Emmerdale as both her new and ex mother-in-law!
But while she started out as a thorn in Sadie’s side, she became a problem for the whole King family and met a VERY sorry end!
Here’s the lowdown.
Rosemary Sinclair
Rosemary arrived in Emmerdale early in 2006, as the disapproving future mother-in-law of Sadie King. Sadie was marrying Rosemary’s son, Alasdair, and Rosemary was NOT happy about it.
She tried to bribe Sadie on the wedding day, determined to put an end to the marriage before it had begun. Sadie refused, and the couple said their vows – but Matthew King turned up at the church and Sadie ran off with him instead!
Fuming, Rosemary made a deal with Sadie – she’d hand over the Sinclairs’ most valuable business if Sadie had the marriage annulled.
Sadie agreed.
But when it came to the handover, Rosemary fleeced Sadie, revealing the business was worthless. And she even told Sadie the meal she’d just eaten had been made from her beloved horse, Cossack! As it turned out, Rosemary was lying but Sadie believed her.
Rosemary returns to Emmerdale
In the summer of the same year, Rosemary returned to the village, with it being revealed she lived at nearby Oakwell Hall with her other son, Grayson, and his wife, Perdy.
She hit it off with Rodney Blackstock and Tom King – and soon saw an opportunity!
Rosemary and Tom’s romance
Rosemary and Tom got on well and began working together on various business deals. But there was more to their friendship and they were soon romantically involved – much to the horror of Tom’s sons.
On the quiet, Rosemary was struggling. Her fancy house was owned by her nephew, and her son Grayson was quickly gambling away all the family fortune.
Chas Dingle, meanwhile, could see that despite Rosemary’s murky reasons for starting a relationship with Tom, the pair were actually happy together. She convinced the King brothers to leave them alone.
Rosemary repaid the kindness by encouraging Tom’s dislike of Chas. With Rosemary’s support, he bullied and blackmailed Chas into ending her relationship with Carl and moving out.
Tom and Rosemary’s eventful wedding day!
Rosemary and Tom tied the knot on Christmas Day in 2006. Tom announced he was giving Rosemary the Home Farm Estate as a wedding present. Needless to say, the brothers were fuming. And so was Rosemary when Tom added that he wanted her to leave it to Carl in her will, rather than Grayson.
And so she was one of the many suspects when Tom was pushed out of a window on the wedding day and died!
Rosemary after Tom’s death in Emmerdale
Rosemary stayed at Home Farm, though Matthew and Jimmy both thought she’d murdered Tom and wanted her to leave.
When she found out the brothers had organised Tom’s funeral while she was away, she stole the body.
Things got even more awkward when the will was read and it was revealed Tom had a daughter – Scarlett – who they’d never known about. He’d had a fling with her mother Carrie while she was nursing his first wife, Mary. What a gem, eh?!
Carrie and Rosemary became allies, and relations between the Kings got worse.
Meanwhile, Rosemary became good friends with Zak Dingle and took young Belle under her wing, even paying her school fees.
Grayson and Perdy
Rosemary’s meddling continued with her son’s marriage. Still covering for Grayson’s gambling, she was determined to get rid of Perdy and marry Grayson off to someone she considered better. She messed with Perdy’s medication and the poor woman ended up being sectioned!
When Grayson realised what his mother had done, he threw her out and told her to leave Emmerdale forever. Rosemary vanished without a trace.
How did Rosemary die in Emmerdale?
The first time Rosemary died, it was all a set-up! She’d staged her disappearance and framed Matthew for her murder.
She’d written a letter to Grayson explaining what she was doing, which Perdy found. Shocked she took it to the Kings, who handed it over to the police, and Matthew was freed.
When Rosemary found out the police were looking for her, she killed herself on Christmas Day 2007. Her death happened off screen as she was hiding out in Miami!
She was buried with Tom but after the funeral, Matthew returned, dug up the coffin, put it in a bin lorry and crushed it!
Rosemary was played by veteran Canadian actress Linda Thorson. She was already a well-known face thanks to her role as Tara King on The Avengers in the 1960s.
Linda grew up in Canada and moved to London to train as an actress, so she’s known for her ability to switch between accents. Her Emmerdale alter ego Rosemary was not Canadian!
Linda’s glittering career away from Rosemary in Emmerdale
After The Avengers, Linda went on to appear in many television dramas in Britain, the US and Canada, including in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was in films and appeared on Broadway.
Since leaving her role as Rosemary Linda has been just as busy. She has appeared in all sorts of television shows, at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, and in films.
She appeared as Gloria Estabrook in the television series of The Hardy Boys from 2020 until 2023.
She’s also recently starred in The Vows We Keep. This is a Hallmark movie about an event planner organising the perfect wedding for her sister. And she was in Lion Versus the Little People.
Schitt’s Creek
Sharp-eyed viewers might also have caught her playing a former soap star in hit comedy Schitt’s Creek. Linda plays Gloria Gregson, a one-time co-star of Moira Rose, who’s cashing in on her soap opera fame and fortune at fan conventions!
Gloria meets Moira at Soap Expo – a convention that Moira doesn’t really want to attend. She thinks it’s beneath her. But when she comes face to face with Gloria, who’s won 17 daytime Emmy awards, she realises it could be a good way to earn some money and remember the good old days.
Gloria tells Moira that she got exhausted always chasing parts and doing the fan conventions gives her freedom. Soon Moira is throwing herself into the day, thanks to Gloria!
We’d definitely be first in the queue if someone launched Soap Expo in the UK!
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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