ITV Emmerdale star teases ‘explosive’ scenes as Dingles to find out about Tom King’s abuse of Belle

Emmerdale star Emma Atkins has teased explosive scenes – when the Dingles learn of Tom King’s harrowing abuse of Belle Dingle.

Ever since they tied the knot, Tom has been subjecting his wife Belle to harrowing abuse and coercive control. He has gone as far as installing a camera to keep an eye on Belle when he’s at work and has put a tracker on her phone without her knowledge.

He has started to turn more and more violent, with bosses warning that things will only get worse between the pair. Producer Laura Shaw told us: “We’ve seen how their wedding night ended with Belle in tears, and we’ve seen since how Tom started to manipulate Belle and coercively control her. This long-running storyline has been really carefully researched and it’s going to continue over the next few months. We’ve been given access to real-life stories and spent time with charities like Refuge. What we’ve learnt from them is just how quickly coercive control relationships can turn physical, so that’s what we’ll see happen next with those two.”

Laura also teased some special episodes on the way including one featuring Tom and Belle. She spilled: “With our storylines we’ve been trying to find new and innovative ways to tell the story, so we’ve got a special episode coming up where we step away from our usual Emmerdale format and do things a little bit differently.

“It’s a dinner party mainly focussing on Belle and Tom and Marlon and Rhona, and we’ll see what’s going on in their relationships and through a special way we’ve done it, we’ll be able to see that what you see in public is not necessarily what you see behind closed doors. It’s not the only special episode we have got planned this year but I am not allowed to tell you about the others.”

Now Emma Atkins – who plays Charity Dingle – has teased the Dingles might soon find out, and trouble is ahead for Tom.

Speaking about the storyline, she told Digital Spy: “I don’t think there’s anyone at home who’s watching that story and not screaming out at the TV because it’s so well done. It’s been so well scripted and played excellently by those two – Eden and James.

“I think at some point the Dingles will no doubt find out and then there’ll be extreme anger and upset – and support for Belle, because the Dingles always come together to rally round to support whoever’s in need.”

Warning fans some big scenes could be on the way, she added: “I think it’s going to be explosive eventually. And for now it’s watching it trickling out – it’s watching it play out. It’s brilliantly done but it’s painful to watch.”