While Sadie King swept back into Emmerdale with all the confidence in the world, actress Patsy Kensit admitted that she was a little more nervous than her alter-ego upon her return!

‘I was so nervous for my first week,’ she mused. ‘I remember Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, called me up just to say, ‘Look, we’re so looking forward to you coming back,’ which is so sweet, and I said, ‘Mark, I’m absolutely s******* myself!’

‘And he said, ‘It would be weird if you weren’t.’ That made me feel better.’

And look, we totally get it.

From arriving in a helicopter to announcing that she’d been in a relationship with the recently-deceased and still married Jimmy King (Nick Miles), Patsy has been thrown squarely into the deep end!

‘Nicola [King] played by Nicola Wheeler, who is just phenomenal, had all my stuff coming in. To come in and have these huge scenes with Nicola, she’s been so great to me. She’s just great at what she does. And she knows the show really well.’

So what has it like stepping back into Sadie’s stilettos? ‘It’s interesting that she turns up in the village in a very dramatic way. For me, it’s a role that I really cherished, and I’m very protective of her,’ Patsy said.

‘It changed my life when I did it 20-odd years ago, and it’s wonderful to be back for a little while and get to say all those horrible things to people.

‘I’m pathologically polite, so it’s wonderful to live vicariously through this woman who seems to have no shame in her game, but does she really have what she had before when she left?

‘It’s interesting, because they’re really taking apart who the woman is in this bit of me being back. It’s beautifully written, and I’m loving it.’

Patsy went on to speak about that iconic return scene, which proved to be a call back to her original debut 22 years ago!

‘Our brilliant producer Laura Shaw was saying, ‘I’m going to make sure we get the helicopter!’ And I was just thinking, ‘Oh, it has to be that!’

‘It’s just a really great nod to that moment years ago, meeting Charity [Dingle (Emma Atkins)] straight away and throwing my coat at her like I did when I came previously.

‘It’s just great. It felt great stepping out of the helicopter.

The biggest challenge? Sadie’s choice of footwear!

‘I had to walk across a field in heels, and I can’t wear heels anymore – I’m just too old – so I said to our director, ‘You’re not going to get a shot of me walking, are you? I’ll look like I’ve had a drink!’ And he said, ‘Have a go!’

‘I managed to walk across the field in heels – I was very proud of myself – and launched straight into it, grieving her ex-husband Jimmy, much to Nicola’s surprise and astonishment.’

There’s been plenty of particularly uncomfortable reunions for Sadie and villagers she crossed with during her first tenure in the Dales.

‘I’m working a lot with Ryan [Hawley] who plays Robert [Sugden] now, and I have a very funny line to him in the pub.

‘He comes up to say hello to me, and I look at him and go, “Oh my God, you’ve changed,” because actually it’s a different actor.

‘Karl [Davies] was wonderful, and Ryan’s fab. He and I have had a lot of stuff to do together. He’s very naughty and funny, and that’s been great.’

‘I had quite a daunting day with Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) where we shot about eight or nine scenes, and it was all about putting that relationship to bed.

‘There is a lot she reveals about what happened to her after he left her on the runway.

‘There were two ways of playing it, and Jeff is such a brilliant actor – as is everyone on the show. I’m learning so much every day, as I did years ago.’

It’s not just old faces, though! Cain’s brother, Caleb Miligan (William Ash), knows nothing of Sadie, which puts him at an immediate disadvantage: ‘We’re about to explore that,’ Patsy says of their characters interacting. ‘Sadie has got her sights set on Caleb. And Ruby [Miligan (Beth Cordingly)], as well.’

Let’s be honest, though, we all want to see Sadie clash with fellow mega bitch and current Queen of Home Farm, Kim Tate (Claire King).

‘She is the queen, and I am so happy to be working with her,’ Patsy gushed.

‘I have such respect for Claire and everything that she’s done. I’ve always been a superfan. Our paths cross a couple of times, and there are some barbed comments which are very Dynasty.

‘That’s the fun about this show; you can have those camp, heightened scenes between these two superbitches, but then the show pulls you back into the great storylines about the important things people are going through in life, and that the audience can relate to.

‘My wish and prayer is that the audience love it. That’s all that we want: for the audience to really enjoy it and tune in.’


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