Chris Tate
Encyclopedia
Christopher Francis "Chris" Tate is a fictional character
from the ITV
soap opera
Emmerdale
. He was played by Peter Amory
.
Chris and Frank had a tense relationship, partly due to the death of Chris's mother, Jean, from cancer and Frank's remarriage to his secretary Kim, who was only a few years older than Chris. However, Chris did have a close relationship with his younger sister, Zoe. When Frank admitted he had helped Jean die when she was terminally ill, Chris initially accused Frank and Kim of plotting his mother's death. Chris was also unimpressed when Kim persuaded Frank to have an operation to reverse his vasectomy
.
). They briefly split up over Chris's gambling habits after he lost his motorbike in a poker match to Alan Turner
. They got back together and married on 5 November 1991. The marriage began to break down a year later when Chris found out Kathy knew that Kim was having an affair with Neil Kincaid. In the row that followed, Chris nearly hit Kathy and later confided in Zoe that he was worried that he had inherited their father's temper. Chris also wanted children and Kathy didn't.
When Frank started drinking heavily again, Chris saw the opportunity to gain control of the business by buying Kim's shares. He mortgaged his and Kathy's cottage to do so, and Kathy only found out when Frank confronted her. As it turned out, Zoe joined forces with Frank to vote down Chris. Kathy, meanwhile, began an affair with Josh Lewis and planned to leave Chris.
of 1993, Chris spent the evening in Skipdale, unaware Kathy was planning to leave him that night. He was supposed to pick up Kathy and meet Zoe in the Woolpack but went straight to the pub and was there when it collapsed. Chris was trapped in the wreckage of the wine bar with his family thinking he was still in Skipdale. He was eventually discovered by Kathy's lover, Josh, and was dug out overnight. He suffered spinal injuries and was left paraplegic.
Chris was very bitter about being disabled and realised that Kathy was only with him out of duty. He formed a bond with Rachel Hughes
, whose brother, Mark, died in the plane crash, and she began giving him swimming lessons. The friendship became an affair and Kathy found out when she saw them kissing on their third wedding anniversary. When Kathy found out Rachel was expecting Chris's child, she threw Chris out of his wheelchair.
had died. She gave birth to a baby boy named Joseph Mark after her stepfather and brother. Chris and Rachel soon fell out with Frank over his interference with Joseph.
Chris and Rachel got married on 7 December 1995 with only Jack
and Sarah Sugden
as witnesses. The marriage lasted less than a year because of Chris's increasingly selfish and money-grabbing ways. Rachel later died, leaving Chris custody of Joseph.
In 2003 Chris discovered that Charity had had a baby when she was 13 and given it up adoption, after Emily and Paddy Kirk's 13 year old foster child Debbie Jones claimed she was Charity's daughter. He was shocked to discover that Debbie's father was Charity's cousin Cain Dingle
. In later 2003 he threw Charity out after discovering that she had been having an affair with Cain. Learning that he had a brain tumour and only months to live, Chris began frittering away all his money to ensure Charity would be left with nothing. He said a tearful goodbye to Zoe and Joseph and then arranged a meeting with Charity where he poisoned himself in order to frame his wife for his murder. He died on the floor of Home Farm in the same spot where his father had died previously. His last word was 'whore'.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
. He was played by Peter Amory
Peter Amory
Peter Amory is an English actor best known for playing the role of Chris Tate on ITV's soap opera Emmerdale. He was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England.-Personal life:...
.
Early storylines
Chris first appeared in November 1989 when his father Frank and stepmother Kim bought Home Farm. He was the managing director of his father's haulage firm. He originally had his own flat in Skipdale, but moved into Home Farm to be closer to his love interest Kathy Merrick.Chris and Frank had a tense relationship, partly due to the death of Chris's mother, Jean, from cancer and Frank's remarriage to his secretary Kim, who was only a few years older than Chris. However, Chris did have a close relationship with his younger sister, Zoe. When Frank admitted he had helped Jean die when she was terminally ill, Chris initially accused Frank and Kim of plotting his mother's death. Chris was also unimpressed when Kim persuaded Frank to have an operation to reverse his vasectomy
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
.
Marriage to Kathy
Chris and Kathy began dating and Chris wrote a song for Kathy to sing at a village concert, 'Just This Side of Love' (which was released as a single sung by Malandra BurrowsMalandra Burrows
Malandra Elizabeth Burrows is an English actress and singer.-Early life:Burrows' first name, Malandra, is a portmanteau of her parents' names, Malcolm and Sandra. Her mother encouraged her at an early age to begin dancing; she initially trained under Billy Pearce's mother Jean...
). They briefly split up over Chris's gambling habits after he lost his motorbike in a poker match to Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
. They got back together and married on 5 November 1991. The marriage began to break down a year later when Chris found out Kathy knew that Kim was having an affair with Neil Kincaid. In the row that followed, Chris nearly hit Kathy and later confided in Zoe that he was worried that he had inherited their father's temper. Chris also wanted children and Kathy didn't.
When Frank started drinking heavily again, Chris saw the opportunity to gain control of the business by buying Kim's shares. He mortgaged his and Kathy's cottage to do so, and Kathy only found out when Frank confronted her. As it turned out, Zoe joined forces with Frank to vote down Chris. Kathy, meanwhile, began an affair with Josh Lewis and planned to leave Chris.
The plane crash
On the night of the infamous plane crashMajor Emmerdale storylines
Popular ITV soap Emmerdale has featured numerous famous storylines since it began in 1972. For a full list of major storylines in Emmerdale, see List of major storylines in Emmerdale.-The Plane Crash :...
of 1993, Chris spent the evening in Skipdale, unaware Kathy was planning to leave him that night. He was supposed to pick up Kathy and meet Zoe in the Woolpack but went straight to the pub and was there when it collapsed. Chris was trapped in the wreckage of the wine bar with his family thinking he was still in Skipdale. He was eventually discovered by Kathy's lover, Josh, and was dug out overnight. He suffered spinal injuries and was left paraplegic.
Chris was very bitter about being disabled and realised that Kathy was only with him out of duty. He formed a bond with Rachel Hughes
Rachel Hughes
Rachel Hughes is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Glenda McKay.-Storylines:...
, whose brother, Mark, died in the plane crash, and she began giving him swimming lessons. The friendship became an affair and Kathy found out when she saw them kissing on their third wedding anniversary. When Kathy found out Rachel was expecting Chris's child, she threw Chris out of his wheelchair.
Joseph
Rachel went into labour prematurely after discovering that her stepfather Joe SugdenJoe Sugden
Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Frazer Hines.Joe was one of the main characters in the Yorkshire-set soap for a 22-year period between 1972–1994 with a brief intermittancy of three years in the 1980s...
had died. She gave birth to a baby boy named Joseph Mark after her stepfather and brother. Chris and Rachel soon fell out with Frank over his interference with Joseph.
Chris and Rachel got married on 7 December 1995 with only Jack
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
and Sarah Sugden
Sarah Sugden
Sarah Sugden is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. She was first played by Madeleine Howard from 1988 until 1994 then by Alyson Spiro from 1994 until 2000.-1988–1997:...
as witnesses. The marriage lasted less than a year because of Chris's increasingly selfish and money-grabbing ways. Rachel later died, leaving Chris custody of Joseph.
Chris vs Kim
When Frank died of a heart attack in 1997. Chris was convinced that Kim had killed him. Kim admitted to Chris that she had watched his father die. When Chris tried to blackmail her into giving him custody of his half-brother James, Kim hit Chris over the head and tipped him out of his wheelchair, pouring whisky over him before escaping with James by helicopter.Kidnapped
In 1999, Chris was held hostage by an employee, Liam, who revealed that he was Frank's illegitimate son and Chris's half-brother. Chris eventually formed a bond with Liam and was upset when he was shot dead by Zoe 'rescuing' ChrisCharity and death
In 2001 Chris married for a third time, to prostitute Charity Dingle. However, Zoe didn't like Charity and told Charity it was because of her history, but it soon transpired that Zoe fancied Charity herself. She offered Charity money to leave Chris and Charity responded by kissing her. The two then famously had a lesbian affair, which lasted for several months. Charity became alarmed by Zoe's obsessive behaviour and tried to end the fling, but Zoe secretly recorded Charity confessing to the affair on tape and blackmailed her into signing a prenuptial agreement, so she would always have a hold over her. Charity then confessed all to Chris, and he surprised her by forgiving her and ripping up the prenup. He later forgave Zoe after she was diagonised with Schizophrenia.In 2003 Chris discovered that Charity had had a baby when she was 13 and given it up adoption, after Emily and Paddy Kirk's 13 year old foster child Debbie Jones claimed she was Charity's daughter. He was shocked to discover that Debbie's father was Charity's cousin Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Jeff Hordley.-Character creation:In 2000 series producer Kieran Roberts introduced three new members of the Dingle family. The new characters were introduced to the regular cast in 2000, who first arrived...
. In later 2003 he threw Charity out after discovering that she had been having an affair with Cain. Learning that he had a brain tumour and only months to live, Chris began frittering away all his money to ensure Charity would be left with nothing. He said a tearful goodbye to Zoe and Joseph and then arranged a meeting with Charity where he poisoned himself in order to frame his wife for his murder. He died on the floor of Home Farm in the same spot where his father had died previously. His last word was 'whore'.