Rosemary King
Rosemary King (also Oakwell and Sinclair) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Linda Thorson. She first appeared on 23 March 2006 and became one of the show's central antagonists until her departure on 13 September 2007; the character was later killed-off screen on Christmas Day 2007.
| Rosemary King | |||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Linda Thorson | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2006–2007 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 23 March 2006 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 13 September 2007 | ||||||||||
| Created by | Kathleen Beedles | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Other names | Rosemary Sinclair | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Businesswoman | ||||||||||
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The character's story arc began with Rosemary exacting revenge on her gold-digging daughter-in-law, Sadie King (Patsy Kensit), after she tried to fleece the Sinclair family by marrying the former's youngest son Alasdair (Ray Coulthard). Soon afterwards, Rosemary embarked on a romantic business partnership with Sadie's ex-father-in-law Tom King (Ken Farrington) that eventually led to the pair getting married on Christmas Day 2006 - which started out happily for Rosemary until Tom was suddenly murdered that night. The development of Tom's murder storyline, dubbed Who Killed Tom King?, saw Rosemary and her eldest son Grayson (Christopher Villiers) become enemies with Tom's second son Matthew (Matt Healy) - up to the point where she tried to incriminate Matthew and his two brothers, Jimmy (Nick Miles) and Carl (Tom Lister), for their father's murder by blackmailing local veterinarian Hari Prasad (John Nayagam) into getting himself and his fiancee Louise Appleton (Emily Symons) to conspire with their plot. However, her plan failed and the King Brothers discovered her plot after Rosemary admitted her scheme to their family friend Carrie Nicholls (Linda Lusardi) - not knowing that she had secretly recorded her confession. This triggered the events of Rosemary falling down the stairs, and Matthew opportunistically blackmailed her into relinquishing her ownership of their estate - Home Farm.
During that time, Rosemary sparked companionships with the Kings' old rival Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell); Tom's closest friend Charles Vaughan (Richard Cole); fellow businessman Rodney Blackstock (Patrick Mower); and Zak's young daughter Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper). She also forged a friendship with former employee Katie (Sammy Winward) after manipulating her ex-husband Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) into evicting his former wife, as well as Carrie's daughter Scarlett (Kelsey-Beth Crossley) in light of the revelation that she is Tom's secret daughter. Additionally, Rosemary clashed with Zak's wife and Belle's mother Lisa (Jane Cox); Carl's girlfriend Chas (Lucy Pargeter); Tom's loyal secretary Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox); and Vaughn's dedicated policewoman Grace Barraclough (Glynis Barber).
The character's duration ended with Rosemary scheming to rid Grayson from his estranged wife Perdita (Georgia Slowe, by getting her sectioned before attempting to make it appear that she will kill herself through the "ordeal". This initially worked successfully until Grayson learned what his mother had done. In response to this discovery and the alleged theory that Rosemary drove his late father Raymond to suicide, Grayson threw his mother out of their house and Rosemary - upon being dismissed by her friends and allies in light of her deceit becoming public knowledge - ended up leaving the village for good. She later tried to frame Matthew for her "murder" in a last-ditch revenge plan off-screen, but this failed when Perdy discovered this and had Matthew released by reporting it to the police; Rosemary thereafter committed suicide on Christmas Night 2007 and was buried on New Year's Day 2008.
Storylines
Rosemary Sinclair first appeared in early 2006. She is the matriarch of the Sinclair Family, who were very wealthy, as well as the mother of both Alasdair (Ray Coulthard) and Grayson (Christopher Villiers) respectively. The last member of the Sinclair family to be introduced, she disapproved of Alasdair's fiancée Sadie King (Patsy Kensit). Rosemary was born of Oakwell family which had been aristocrats of Emmerdale for long time but they were cash-poor and when Rosemary married Raymond Sinclair she became a millionairess by the marriage. One of her nephews was Lord Alex Oakwell (Rupam Maxwell), who had previously appeared in the show ten years previously; from 1997-1998.
On the morning of the wedding, Rosemary tried to bribe Sadie not to marry her son; however, Sadie refused - threatening to get Alasdair to put her in an old people's home if she didn't back off. She married Alasdair but left the church with her ex-lover, Matthew (Matt Healy). Rosemary wanted Sadie and Alasdair's marriage annulled so they wouldn't have to give her a settlement. However, Sadie tricked Rosemary into thinking the marriage had been consummated so they agreed that in exchange for the Sinclair business most valued by Rosemary, Sadie would get the marriage annulled. Rosemary got revenge: once the papers were signed, she revealed that the business was worthless and claimed that the meal served prior to the signings was Sadie's horse, Cossack, (this was a lie, but Sadie believed it).
Rosemary returned to the village in August, where it appeared she lived at Oakwell Hall with Grayson and his wife Perdita (Georgia Slowe). They quickly settled themselves into Emmerdale, where Rosemary became friends with local businessman Rodney Blackstock (Patrick Mower). She soon acquainted herself with Matthew's father Tom King (Ken Farrington), and the pair quickly bonded over their mutual distrust of Sadie - whose nature Tom was already aware off. Rosemary quickly realised that getting involved with him would be advantageous to both of them and began putting business his way. Tom and Rosemary's relationship was soon more than just business. A spark developed between them and they became lovers, much to Matthew's outrage - as he promptly distrusted her; Matthew's brothers Carl (Tom Lister) and Jimmy (Nick Miles), were equally concerned over Rosemary's motives.
While she had a fancy house and plummy accent, Rosemary's fortunes were fading fast. The family home, Oakwell Hall, belonged to her nephew and her money was almost gone – thanks to her sons. Grayson, in particular, had almost drunk the well dry as his gambling and extravagant living meant Rosemary was constantly bailing him out. Sick of it, she cut him off – prompting more tension in an already fraught relationship between her and Perdita.
Surprisingly, Rosemary had another ally at Home Farm; Carl's girlfriend Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter). She could see that he and Rosemary were happy together and once Rosemary's motives were exposed, she convinced Carl and his brothers to leave her alone. Unfortunately Chas' sympathy evaporated when Rosemary and Tom started interfering in her and Carl's relationship. Tom didn't think she was good enough for Carl and when Rosemary told him she agreed, he bullied/blackmailed Chas into ending things with Carl and move out of Home Farm. They reconciled briefly after Tom's death but Carl soon ended things again and Rosemary was surprisingly sympathetic when she saw how upset Chas was. Meanwhile, Rosemary had moved into Home Farm. As her relationship with Tom was progressing, she felt more secure, but clashed repeatedly with Chas and Tom's secretary, Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox). With everyone opposed to his and Rosemary's relationship, Tom decided to prove he was serious about her and shocked her by proposing. She accepted and they married in a romantic Christmas Day ceremony. The ceremony took place at the village church and the reception was held at Home Farm. Tom announced he was giving Rosemary the Home Farm Estate as a wedding present, much to the disgust of Tom's sons. Rosemary was shocked when Tom told her that he wanted her to leave it to Carl in her will, rather than Grayson. This could have been her motive for murdering Tom when he died later that night, leaving her a widow. She was one of ten people suspected of the murder.
Feeling lonely after Tom's death, things didn't improve. She continued to live at Home Farm as she was entitled to do, as Tom's widow. Jimmy and Matthew thought she had murdered Tom and wanted her out. She was already befriended Tom's close friend, Charles Vaughan (Richard Cole), and he was a little too keen to comfort her. A lot of people were suspicious, including Matthew. He reported Charles' constant visits to the DCI in charge of the investigation, giving her no choice but to pass it on to her bosses.
Relations went downhill further when Rosemary found out her stepsons planned Tom's funeral for when she was away, so she took the body. The Kings blanked her at the funeral and were angry to discover, during the reading of the will, that Tom left Home Farm to them providing they gave Rosemary a home for as long as she wanted. They were shocked again to find they had a sister, Scarlett Nicholls (Kelsey-Beth Crossley). Her mother, Carrie (Linda Lusardi), had met Tom when she was nursing his sons' mother - Mary - before she died. The Kings were angry, feeling Tom had betrayed their mother. Carl, in particular, took it badly as they had had a brief fling. Rosemary used it to her advantage, becoming allies with Carrie.
Perdita told Matthew that Rosemary had been widowed mysteriously before. Ray Sinclair, her first husband and Grayson's and Alasdair's father, died in a shooting accident in 1982 and Matthew convinced Perdita to tell the police - claiming it was vital evidence. The police questioned Rosemary who knew Perdita told them but was shocked when Matthew told her he had found out from another source. Needing to talk to someone, Rosemary told local poacher Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) that Ray had killed himself because she "made his life hell".
The police arrived a few days later and arrested the Kings for conspiracy to murder. Rosemary wanted them out of her way - if they went down for murder, that was even better. She continued scheming by telling local farmer Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) to evict his ex-wife, Katie (Sammy Winward), and Perdita from Butler's Farm. She called him in, telling him under his tenancy agreement, he could not sublet any part of the farm if he wanted to continue renting it. Andy told Katie and Perdita that they would have to find new premises and Rosemary told them they could use the stables at Home Farm in exchange for a 10% stake in the business. Perdita was furious at Rosemary muscling in but Katie was thrilled, seeing it as a chance to move up in the world.
When Scarlett found out she had three brothers, Rosemary delighted in their fury about her hanging around. She was soon distracted by family problems of her own when Perdita miscarried again and needed an emergency hysterectomy. Rosemary knew Grayson was lying and forced him to tell her the truth. Distraught about not having grandchildren, she felt the marriage wouldn't last and wanted Grayson to leave Perdita but he wouldn't.
Rosemary soon became good friends with Zak, and was grew close with his daughter Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) - particularly when Rosemary agreed to pay the fees for her to go to private school. Zak worked as gamekeeper at Home Farm, further building up their friendship. However, Zak's wife and Belle's mother Lisa (Jane Cox) suspected they were having an affair. This wasn't helped by Shadrach, Zak's brother, making comments about Rosemary. Lisa flew off the handle, slapping Rosemary and threw Zak out, but Rosemary talked her round. Shortly afterwards, Grayson borrowed money from Rosemary. He used it for a bet on the horse that belonged to local veterinarian Hari Prasad (John Nayagam), but it lost and Grayson told Hari to get the money back. Rosemary soon got involved, telling Hari not to worry about the money he owed her. She also gave him the money he needed to repay what he'd taken from the vet's surgery accounts to buy the horse if he told the police he overheard the Kings talking about the murder weapon. Hari agreed and got his fiancee Louise Appleton (Emily Symons) to back him up. Matthew knew Rosemary was behind Hari and Louise's statements and didn't think much of them. Hari was in trouble when Louise found out he was lying and went to the police. He ran her car off the road, trying to stop her. On the day of the trial, Hari and Louise didn't appear as Louise told the police that she and Hari had not heard the King brothers discussing Tom's murder. She also told them how her accident happened and Hari was arrested for attempted murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice
The Kings were released and were waiting for Rosemary. She told Carrie she had lied and Carrie recorded it, later playing it to the Kings and they confronted Rosemary. She tried to call for help but Matthew grabbed the phone and held it over a balcony. Rosemary tried to grab it but lost her balance and fell over the balcony, landing on the floor below, unconscious. Apart from a very sore ankle, she was fine but feared for her life as Matthew talked about killing her. Matthew, with Jimmy backing him up, made it clear he would only call an ambulance if she sold Home Farm Estates to them -.so she signed the documents. They subsequently called an ambulance and Rosemary went to hospital, where she told Grayson what had happened and vowed revenge. Rosemary was determined to get her revenge on the Kings, specifically Matthew, and see Grayson married to a woman who was not "a danger to the family name". Trying to get Perdita out of the way, she meddled with Perdita's pills so Perdita thought she was going mad. She wanted Grayson to find someone better and refurnished the attic as a nursery, drugged Perdy, and damaged her car. Rosemary completed her goal by confessing after Perdita found the nursery. Unfortunately the damage was done, Perdita went for Rosemary. Grayson persuaded her to come out and pretending to believe her, led her into a waiting ambulance. She was taken to hospital and sectioned.
On 13 September 2007, Grayson went to see the family doctor and he told Grayson about the pills he had prescribed for Rosemary. Grayson learned Perdita's symptoms were the result of mixing the two sets of pills prescribed. He confronted Rosemary, who admitted what she had done, so Grayson kicked her out. He told her not to return. She stayed initially at the B&B, and then with Hari's old co-worker Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt). The next day, she saw Perdita in The Woolpack, who told the whole pub that Rosemary had poisoned her. Zak took Rosemary home and she told him that Perdita had told the truth. A horrified Zak told Rosemary to stay away from him and his family and left. She bumped into Grayson in the village, who told her to leave. She refused and Grayson told her there was nothing left for her in Emmerdale. She then vanished without a trace.
On 31 October, Edna was looking for her dog Tootsie. She found her but didn't notice what she was sitting near - Rosemary's bag and passport. A few weeks later, Paddy and his best-friend Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) were walking down a country road when they spotted Rosemary's handbag and passport lying in the grass. They called the police, who searched the bag and found a diary, and on 13 September (the date she was last seen) it said MK MF in her handwriting. The police suspected this meant Matthew King, Manor Farm, meaning Rosemary had met Matthew at Manor Farm (the Kings' property) that day. They told Grayson and found Rosemary's car abandoned at Manor Farm, and two empty coffee cups on the table, one with Matthew's fingerprints and the other with Rosemary's fingerprints. They found traces of her blood on the floor and concluded that Matthew had invited Rosemary to Manor Farm, made her a coffee and then murdered her. Matthew was arrested, charged and held on remand in prison. The whole village turned against him, believing he was a murderer. However, Grayson hired a private detective to find her and the detective told Grayson that Rosemary was living in Miami. The detective brought Grayson a letter from Rosemary in which she told the truth, that she faked her death and framed Matthew for her murder. Grayson went to Home Farm to tell Matthew but saw him and Perdy kissing and discussing their affair. In retaliation, Grayson kept the letter and Matthew was imprisoned.
On Christmas Day, Perdita found the letter and confronted Grayson. She told him she was going to the police, but she and Grayson had a fight - during which he grabbed the letter and did a runner but Carl and Jimmy caught him. They took the letter to the police claiming he had been so busy that he hadn't realised what it was. They believed him and he wasn't charged.
On Christmas Day 2007, the first anniversary of her marrying Tom and his subsequent untimely murder, Rosemary committed suicide by gunshot after learning that the police were looking for her. On 1 January, Rosemary was buried with her deceased husband Tom. However, after the funeral, Matthew hatched a plan to get revenge on his former stepmother for her attempt to frame him; he secretly returned and dug up Rosemary's coffin, which Matthew then arranged for it to be crushed by placing in the back of a bin lorry.