Emmerdale’s James Chase reveals Tom to be hit with ‘real shocker’ that turns the tables on him

Viewers will be on the edge of their seats in upcoming Emmerdale episodes, as vile Tom King (James Chase) finally faces justice for his abusive treatment of his wife Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).

Even after his arrest after the police found evidence on his tablet that he’d secretly spied on Belle with hidden cameras, Tom tried to manipulate his way out of the situation by blackmailing his solicitor, Ollie (Alistair Toovey), into helping him.

Right up to the last minute, Tom still believes he’s in control of the situation, as James Chase told us. ‘He’s still holding onto a bit of hope that he can do something about it,’ he said.

Tom’s big idea is to stage an attempt on his life. This worked for him previously when he and Belle were at the cottage in Wales and he was able to manipulate her by pretending he tried to ᴋɪʟʟ ʜɪᴍsᴇʟꜰ.

‘He has self harmed but he has done it in a place on his body where he knew he wouldn’t be seriously hurting himself,’ James explained. ‘I think at this point he is pretty confident that he’s going to get away with not having to do the trial. I think that’s just the way he is.’

Tom’s confidence has become increasingly misplaced recently, and once again he’s thwarted in his attempt to derail the legal proceedings against him.

After his fake s.u.i.c.i.d.e attempt he’s assessed by medical staff and the decision is that he’s fit to stand trial.

‘It’s a bit of a shocker!’ James said. ‘I think that this is one of those reality-checking moments for Tom where he is like, “Okay!  So this trial is actually going to go ahead.” I think he probably thought through plans A, B, C and all the way through to Z for what he would do if they did buy the fact that he was mentally unstable. So declaring him fit has definitely thrown a spanner in the works for him.’

Tom finally having to face up to his crimes in court was the most satisfying way the story could end, according to James.

‘I think the way it’s going to wrap up is going to be very satisfying for people to see,’ he promised.

‘Ending it in a court was cool – ending it in a big venue, a place I’ve never been in real life. I think it helped me feel like Tom to be somewhere so grandiose. I have never been in a courtroom in real life and perhaps Tom hasn’t either, so it helped me feed into that nervousness he would be feeling, even though he wouldn’t show it.

‘I think it’s satisfying but still an interesting way of going about it. How we get to that end point, it’s not just cut and dry. It is an interesting way of doing it.’

Will the jury find Tom guilty of his crimes?