Emmerdale welcomes back one of its most iconic ever characters in the form of Sadie King, as Patsy Kensit arrives back in the eponymous village for the first time in two decades.

The much-loved show character steps foot out of a helicopter on Wednesday (September 2), leaving former nemesis Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) in shock as they set their sights upon one another for the first time since 2005.

In typical Sadie fashion, her presence alone is enough to cause trouble, with the entire village up in arms at her unexpected comeback as she heads to the Woolpack for a drink.

The shocks just keep on coming as she informs grieving Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) that her beloved husband Jimmy (Nick Miles) – who died last week – was in a secret relationship with her… and had been for three years!

By the end of her first episode in 20 years, it’s clear that Sadie is not welcome in the village so if you’re struggling to recall everything there is to know about the truly iconic character and what she did then we’re on hand to help you out.

Who is Sadie King in Emmerdale and what did she do?

Sadie King is the ex-wife of Jimmy, who arrived in the eponymous village in 2004 – via helicopter! – shortly after the debut of the King clan, who would go on to become one of the ITV serial’s signature families.

In regards to the second half of the question posed above, perhaps the more appropriate phrasing would be what didn’t she do!

The character was everything Emmerdale was missing at the time in a post-Kim Tate era, making a name for herself due to her scheming ways as she conned and manipulated pretty much everyone who was foolish enough to cross her path.

In terms of her relationship with Jimmy, it was clear that she wasn’t as invested as he was and throughout her two years in the village, she embarked on secret relationships with Robert Sugden and even Jimmy’s own brother Matthew!

From pretty much the moment she debuted, Sadie made her dislike for Charity – who was in a relationship with King patriarch Tom at the time – well documented.

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In fact, she was determined to get Charity out of the picture and away from the family, so much so that she pushed her down the stairs and framed her for stolen cash!

Sadie’s meddling saw Tom call things off with Charity, who famously got her revenge on Sadie by embarking on an affair with Jimmy, taping a secret conversation she had with him as he admitted to Sadie’s schemes and later screening it in front of the entire King family.

This proved to be the beginning of the end for Sadie, who found herself out in the cold as a result of her actions.

With her marriage to Jimmy over, she turned her attention to Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and used him to help secure land that the Kings were keen on, using it as leverage to worm her way back into the family.

When Matthew, who had been in love with her for years, turned his back on her, Sadie turned her attention to wealthy Alisdair Sinclair, who she briefly married in a bid to get her hands on some money.

Sadie later cut a deal with Cain, agreeing to rekindle their brief romance if he helped her sabotage the King River Show Home project. Cain did what was asked of him but Sadie did not go through with her end of the deal.

The Show Home collapse, which resulted in the deaths of three characters including Bob Hope’s daughter Dawn Woods, led to Matthew disowning Sadie for good this time and, after attempting to get her own back on the Kings, Sadie was abducted by Cain, who held her at gunpoint.

While Cain left with his pockets full of cash, Sadie subsequently departed the village in 2006 with no money to her name and just a car for company.

But flashforward two decades later and she’s back – the question is: has she changed her ways? Or is she still up to no good?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX and YouTube. 

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