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KING OF DECEIT

What happened to Carl King in Emmerdale?

Get the lowdown on one of Emmerdale's biggest villains.

TOM King came back to the Dales after a decade in Saudi Arabia and his return was tainted by painful memories.

Emmerdale viewers saw Thomas rekindle with his father's family. But who was Carl King and what happened to him?

Carl King was one of Emmerdale's biggest villains
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Carl King was one of Emmerdale's biggest villainsCredit: ITV

ITV viewers were shocked when the Yorkshire-based drama brought back a crucial member of the King family.

As mentioned above, Thomas King was spotted in the eponymous village after ten years in Saudi Arabia with his mother Colleen - who recently passed away from a fatal heart attack - and his sister Anya King.

Actor James Chase reprised the role from Mark Flanagan earlier this year and made his Emmerdale debut when his alter ego walked out of the Hide and bumped into former flame Belle Dingle.

But just as the pair became reacquainted and gave their relationship another go, Tom was haunted by memories of his villainous father's actions.

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Here's what you need to know about the infamous Carl King.

How did Carl King die in Emmerdale?

Carl King, portrayed by Ingleton actor Tom Lister, died in October 2012 after more than eight years of causing carnage in the Dales.

Villagers began to question who was responsible after the character was found dead but viewers knew who it was all along as they'd seen it unravel right before their eyes.

Carl was killed by Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) as part of Emmerdale's 40th anniversary.

After Carl boasted about being able to make people disappear and remain untouched, Cameron hit him over the head with a brick.

The death went down as one of the most iconic in soap history, with his last words, ironically, being "because I'm indestructible."

Who was Carl King and when did he arrive in Emmerdale?

Carl was the first member of the King family to settle in Emmerdale and was introduced to viewers in early 2004 as the son of Tom and Mary King.

In his debut scene Carl, who had taken on the name of Carl McKenzie, made everyone believe he was a driver starting off at Tate Haulage.

It later transpired that he was, in fact, a spy for his family's own business, King & Sons, to whom he reported back after a day at Tate Haulage.

This gift for deceiving others was also used in his personal life.

Carl King set his sights on Louise Appleton once he'd settled into the Dales but their romance was unceremoniously cut short when his wife Colleen rocked up.

Colleen dropped the bombshell that, not only was she married to Carl, she was also the mother of his two children, Tom and Anya.

Carl later moved on to Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), unaware that, years down the line, she would be the cause of his downfall.

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What happened between Chas Dingle and Carl King in Emmerdale?

Carl was unsurprisingly involved in plenty of drama during his time on Emmerdale, and became known as treacherous, deceitful womanizer.

He started a relationship with Chas but their romance was in no way peaceful as she famously cheated on Paddy Kirk with Carl, years before her affair with Al Chapman destroyed their marriage.

After getting together officially, Carl and Chas were happy for a while but Carl's thirst for excitement took over and he began an affair with Eve Jenson.

Chas found out about the illicit romance and proposed to him as part of her plot to get revenge by humiliating him.

After asking him to marry her and hinting she was pregnant, Chas was given a whopping amount of money by Carl for their wedding.

Carl ended things with Eve but came to regret it when, on the big day, Chas revealed his affair to the whole village.

Carl began to feel resentful of Chas, and was shocked to discover she was having an affair of her own with Cameron Murray.

Feeling betrayed, Carl blackmailed Chas and Cameron for the money she'd stolen from him and this eventually led to a huge showdown between Chas and Carl.

During the confrontation, which took place in a caravan, Carl attempted to rape Chas, leading her to strike him over the head with a brick.

Chas then ran away and, when he was found dead the next day, she believed she was responsible for Carl's death.

However, it was Carl's love rival Cameron who had actually murdered him after spotting Chas running away from the caravan.

Cameron would go on to be so consumed with guilt, he'd confess the truth about Carl's death to Alex Moss before killing him as well.

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He then became one of the Dales' most notorious villains and serial killers and was even responsible for the Woolpack siege.

Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.

His son Thomas has had issues coming to terms with his actions
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His son Thomas has had issues coming to terms with his actionsCredit: ITV
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