Frank Tate (Emmerdale) Frank Tate (Emmerdale) Frank Tate is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Emmerdale", played by Norman Bowler. He made his first appearance on 21 November 1989 and remained a regular for almost eight years, before Bowler opted to quit in 1996, leading to his character’s exit the following year. Introduced as the patriarch of the new Tate family, who were brought in as part of the show’s rebranding, in 1989, many of Frank’s storylines revolved around his volatile relationship with his wife Kim Tate (Claire King). During his time in the programme, Frank and Kim divorced and
John Barton (Emmerdale) the show's series producer, Gavin Blyth was introducing the new family as part of an ongoing reinvention of the soap. The family, which consisted of five members – a mother, father, two daughters and a son – took over the running of Butler's Farm. Of the family, Blyth said "I don't want to make "Emmerdale" a show about teenagers and young people, it's about family values. The Bartons are sexy, modern and contemporary. They're almost happy – and in soapland that's quite strange!" Natalie J. Robb was cast in the role of Moira Barton and Adam Thomas, Sophie Powles and