Emmerdale comp image of Jimmy King and Paul Ashdale
Soaps

Emmerdale: Jimmy King’s killer history – how he caused the deaths of Paul, Dawn and two others

Jimmy first appeared 20 years ago

Jimmy King has been in Emmerdale since 2004 when he arrived as part of the mighty King clan. Almost 20 years later, Jimmy is the only remaining original King in the Dales.

Married to Nicola, they have three kids between them. And daughter Angelica has just confessed to being behind the wheel for the crash that killed Heath Hope.

With Jimmy desperate to keep her role in the crash quiet, he’s been remembering his own killer past. Responsible for the deaths of at least four people throughout his time in Emmerdale – whose death has Jimmy caused?

Here’s everything we know about Jimmy King.

The King family were once a force to be reckoned with (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Jimmy King in Emmerdale: Who are his family?

Jimmy King is the son of Tom and Mary King. Tom was in Emmerdale from 2004 until 2006 and Mary was never seen on-screen.

Jimmy was the oldest of Tom and Mary’s four sons. His brothers were Matthew, Carl and Max. They also had a half-sister called Scarlett Nicholls, who is the daughter of Tom and Carrie Nicholls.

Both of Jimmy’s parents have died and his brothers have all died.

Jimmy and his brother Carl, who died in 2012 (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Mary died before the King family arrived in Emmerdale. Max was the first of the brothers to meet his maker after a car crash in 2005 and father Tom died the following year in 2006. He was pushed out of a window by Carl, although Jimmy was one of the suspects in that murder too.

Matthew died two years later in 2008 when he crashed a car into a wall on his wedding day. Carl was the final King brother to pass away in 2012 after he was hit over the head with a brick by Cameron Murray. Scarlett is still alive and living in Canada.

Jimmy had a relationship with Kelly (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Who is Jimmy married to and how many kids does he have?

In 1990 before his life in Emmerdale, Jimmy was married to Sadie Campbell.

Eventually Sadie and Jimmy split up and he moved on to Kelly Windsor. They got engaged, however their relationship was on and off and she left the village in 2007.

Jimmy went on to have a relationship with Nicola De Souza. She ended up falling pregnant and gave birth to a little girl, who was named Angelica.

However after her birth, Angelica was taken by Carl’s wife Lexi up onto the hospital rooftop. Lexi eventually gave Angel back to her parents.

Angelica was born in 2010 (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

In 2011 Kelly returned to the village revealing that Jimmy had a son called Elliot. Kelly soon left her son with Jimmy and Nicola and hasn’t been seen since.

Jimmy also has a son named Carl, who is the biological son of Juliette Holliday.

Elliot and Angelica are Jimmy’s two oldest children (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

In 2014, Jimmy and Nicola got a shock when a woman named Juliette showed up. It was revealed she was pregnant with Jimmy’s child – but he hadn’t been having an affair!

Juliette and her husband Greg had been having IVF treatment for years and Juliette finally fell pregnant. But due to a mix up at the sperm bank, she was given Jimmy’s sperm.

Juliette is Carl’s biological mother (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Juliette turned up in the village to get him to sign the papers which made him lose his rights to his unborn baby.

However Juliette went into labour at Jimmy and Nicola’s and she gave birth to baby boy with the help of Nicola.

She decided to name her son Carl, unaware that was the name of one of Jimmy’s late brothers.

Carl has been raised by Jimmy and Nicola (Credit: ITV)

Juliette initially allowed Jimmy to see his son, but when her husband Greg wanted to give things another go and be a family, she left.

A few years later, Jimmy reached out to Juliette to check on Carl but she revealed Greg had left her again and she was struggling to look after Carl by herself.

She left Carl with Jimmy and Nicola and they have raised him ever since. In 2021, Juliette returned to the village wanting to see her son. However she soon left again.

Dawn Woods in Emmerdale smiles for a promo shot
Dawn was Jimmy’s first victim (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Who has Jimmy King killed in Emmerdale?

Jimmy has been responsible for four deaths in Emmerdale. The first three came when he was launching the King’s River Development. At the time Jimmy was furious with his ex-wife Sadie who had secretly got engaged to his brother, Matthew.

Matthew and Sadie wanted to destroy Jimmy, and paid Cain to bulldoze the show home at King’s River, causing all sorts of damage.

Jimmy was determined to open the show home on time, despite the problems, so he patched up the damage, intending to have it properly repaired after the launch.

But on the day of the launch, in July 2006, Jimmy’s bodge job came back to haunt him when the house exploded.

The explosion killed three people – including Dawn Woods, Bob Hope’s daughter, who was dragged from the rubble in front of her horrified dad. Others who suffered the same fate were Noreen Bell, a pensioner and friend of Val Lambert, and a minor character named David Brown, who was the estate agent for the homes.

Jimmy was badly injured but recovered, and has always blamed himself for Dawn’s tragic death.

Liv in Emmerdale glares at Paul before she confronts him
No one blames Jimmy for Paul’s death (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Jimmy kills Paul Ashdale

Paul Ashdale was Vinny’s dad and Mandy’s fiancé. He was a gambling addict who was abusing Vinny. But Mandy had no idea and was set to marry him.

On their wedding day, Liv Flaherty had found out about Paul’s abuse and confronted him. She cornered Paul at the barn where he and Mandy were due to tie the knot, but he lashed out at her viciously.

Meanwhile Jimmy was driving his truck when the glare from the sun got in his eyes. He crashed his lorry through the barn wall.

Liv managed to get herself free and tried to save Paul, who was trapped under a collapsed beam. But she gave up and escaped the barn just before it exploded.

Paul later died of his injuries and Liv struggled with the guilt and turned to drink to cope.

Jimmy was charged with death by dangerous driving – a similar charge to that being faced by his daughter, Angelica, now. He intended to plead guilty to atone for the three deaths he’d caused in 2006, but Mandy talked him out of it.

Last night (Monday January 23) Nicola reminded Jimmy of the guilt he felt when he killed Paul as Jimmy urged Angel to lie to the police. Nicola told him “You nearly had a breakdown”.

In fact, Nicola and Jimmy’s marriage almost collapsed over the incident as he found himself growing closer to Mandy. They shared a kiss, but Jimmy eventually went back to Nicola.

Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2024?

YouTube video player

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.

For all the latest soap spoilers, news and chat come and join us at Soap Daily now! 

Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)