Emmerdale spoilers: Belle Dingle devastated as vile Tom King asserts his control in chilling scenes
Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) remains in danger in Emmerdale as Tom King (James Chase) continues to coercively control her.
We’ve known for a while that Tom King is a dark and concerning individual. Ahead of the scenes which will see Tom abuse Belle physically and through the use of technology, the current focus is on him mentally manipulating her.
In tonight’s (February 28) episode of the ITV soap, Belle spent the morning sorting the kitchen out after going shopping.
When Tom woke up, he broke the news to Belle that he did a big shop last night, and it was being delivered within the hour.
This left Belle feeling a little troubled. The fridge was jam packed and when the doorbell rang, she was left wondering where they would fit all the extra food.
Just as Belle and Tom walked through the lounge, Tom made it clear that he was off for a shower. He told his wife they should communicate better next time, and left her to unload the shopping.
Later, Tom popped by the cafe with some food for Jimmy (Nick Miles) and his family. They got talking about Angelica (Rebecca Bakes), who is being sent to a secure children’s home after Heath’s (Sebastian Dowling) death at the start of the year.
With Jimmy struggling to help his daughter, Tom developed an idea.
Heading home, Tom told Belle that he’s promised she’ll talk to Angel about what she can expect. After all, Belle has spent time in a young offenders’ institute so she knows exactly what Angel will go through.
The thought of reliving the ordeal again made Belle anxious. She told Tom that she wished he asked her first, but he made her feel guilty at the thought of saying no.
As Tom continues to isolate Belle from her family, the storyline will eventually shine a light on the rise of abuse via technology, which features someone using devices such as trackers and hidden cameras to control and follow their partner.
Discussing this storyline, producer Laura Shaw said: ‘Soaps are in the extraordinary position of being able to highlight what happens behind the public face of an abusive relationship, over a longer period of time. The audience knows these characters so well, sometimes as well as they might know their own friends and family and they care deeply about them.
‘As harrowing as it can be to watch this type of storyline play out, it’s imperative that we use our platform to shine a light on domestic abuse, and help give a voice to people who have so often been silenced.’