Since Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) married Tom King (James Chase) in Emmerdale earlier this year, the controlling behaviour that he’d already been displaying has escalated as he’s put Belle through an ordeal of control, coercion and abuse.
Belle has endured Tom tracking her every move, cutting her off from her family and friends, gaslighting her by making out that everything is in her head, and cruelly using her pet dog as a weapon against her and making her believe that Piper is dead.
It’s only been recently that Belle has realised that what’s happening is abuse and that she’s done nothing wrong. Even though Tom has successfully got everyone else believing that he’s the victim of Belle’s deteriorating mental health, Belle is standing strong and doing what she can to protect herself.
We’re about to see a turning point in the story in a special episode that breaks the conventional format of Emmerdale by taking us inside Belle’s thoughts as three potential future realities play out.
Eden Taylor-Draper told us that the catalyst for this is the moment when Tom forcibly kisses her, saying he will never give up on her – even though he’s started a relationship with Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell).
‘Not only is he in her space both mentally and physically in that moment that he kisses her. But when she doesn’t respond it turns into something else and I think that is when Belle in her mind just goes – what is going to happen to me – to Amelia – to Tom? And how is this going to end? And that is when it then spirals into Belle’s imagination.’
Eden described how the dream-like sequences portray her character’s thought processes in the episode.
‘There is one scene we repeat multiple times throughout the episode. And Belle is always the same but the people around her change clothes, change position or change speed and I think it’s a really good way to mark the start of different sequences in her brain. I think it’s a brave way to explore what is going on in her head.. Because you never really see the imagination of a character. So to do a whole episode dedicated to her fears and her worries does feel very special.
‘When I got the script I was so excited and without spoiling anything there are scenes that you wouldn’t get to normally film – unless they were in your imagination. So that was so fun for not only me but other characters involved too. We got to do things that if it had been “real” Emmerdale we would not have done.’
Through what happens in this episode, the situation that Belle is in becomes much clearer to her and it empowers her to take action, as Eden described to us.
‘This is a new page in Belle’s life,’ she pointed out. ‘It is a new chapter. It’s the start of Belle really taking matters into her own hands and finding strength and courage. I think it is very important. Without saying the ending – I really enjoyed what the ending entailed.’
Belle’s story has already made an impact on people who are dealing with abusive relationships, and Eden has been heartened to hear from people who have previously been in that situation but are now safe.
‘I’ve met quite a lot of people that work in Domestic Abuse charities and they have told me they have been using our story to represent certain traits in abusive, controlling relationships. Which I think is such an honour,’ Eden said.
‘I’ve also spoken to so many people who used to be in that situation and they have or are coming out of it and they are now happy and healthy. And I’ve also been approached by people who have friends who they think might be in a relationship like Tom and Belle and they don’t know how to go about helping them.
‘It is so sad that people can be led to believe they are nothing without their abuser as they have been gaslit and essentially brainwashed. So it would be amazing and I would be so proud if Emmerdale could reach people and make them see and believe otherwise. That would be an honour.’
