Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) finds a friend in Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) in Emmerdale soon, but could she be the one to work out Belle is being abused and controlled by husband Tom King (James Chase)?
Shortly after Belle and Tom’s wedding, the ITV soap confirmed their storyline will continue to focus on him abusing her mentally, physically and through the use of technology.
Revealing her reaction to Belle’s future, actress Eden Taylor-Draper said:
‘When we first heard from the producers the way the Tom and Belle relationship story was going to go, we were fully aware of the responsibility that would bring. But it is an important story to tell. Soaps offer the viewer a glimpse of life behind closed doors and reveal what people present to the world isn’t always a truth. The sad reality is that behaviour like this in a relationship is all too prevalent.
‘I hope we do this story justice. And if people are in a situation like this they should definitely get help.’
In upcoming episodes, Tom once again highlights his desperation to be in control of Belle by expressing his annoyance towards her not wanting to have children.
Later, Suzy is surprised to find Belle working at the reception at the vets and alludes to the fact there’s a job going at Take a Vow. She covers and pretends Tom passed on the message to her, but a fuming Belle then confronts her husband and accuses him of lying.
Belle decides to go against Tom’s wishes and accepts the job. Matters are then made worse when Suzy describes Belle’s first client as her ‘perfect match’, leaving Tom jealous and very angry.
As he decides Belle working at Take A Vow just isn’t an option, what lengths will Tom go to in order to gain control back?
If Belle forms a friendship with Suzy and continues to work with her, will the wedding planner pick up on Tom’s concerning behaviour?
