There’s only one thing more sinister than Tom King (James Chase) being horrible in Emmerdale – and that’s Tom King being nice. Because what we’ve learned by now is that Tom is hardly ever nice without having a hidden agenda.
That was certainly the case in Wednesday (April 24)’s episode when Tom told Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) that what they needed in their relationship was a ‘reboot.’
This comes after Vinny spent time in hospital with a head injury after Tom smashed him over the back of the head with a paperweight.
Vinny doesn’t know that it was Tom who did this, and he doesn’t know that it came in a fit of rage and jealousy after Tom tracked Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper)’s phone to Vinny’s portacabin, where he’d taken the phone to fix it.
Tom has been tracking Belle’s movements for weeks with an app without her knowing as he steps up his efforts to control her.
He’s also recently had cameras installed in the house, officially for security after a ‘break in’ which never actually happened. Having Belle living in a state of fear suits Tom as she then has to depend on him more, and having cameras everywhere means he can keep track of exactly who she might be seeing and what she could be doing.
He’s been particularly jealous of Vinny who is one of Belle’s closest friends. When Belle disclosed a secret that Vinny had shared with her – that he’s still a virgin – Tom used this information to repeatedly taunt and belittle the man he sees as his rival.
Hence the need for a reboot, which turned into a drinking session at the Woolpack. On the face of it this looked very friendly as the two chatted about Justice League films like a pair of old friends.
When Belle arrived on the scene she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, but she looked wary. She looks wary a lot when she’s around Tom, like she’s suspicious of his motives but no longer sure of herself enough to trust her own instincts.
She looked especially worried when Tom declared that what Vinny needs is a girlfriend and he planned to take him into town the next day and be his wing man.
The way he pointedly said ‘I’m in a relationship and he isn’t’ was obviously another dig at Vinny’s virginity, which made Vinny flinch.
‘I don’t remember agreeing to that,’ Vinny said, and Belle added that Tom ‘shouldn’t force him.’
Tom replied that not taking no for an answer wasn’t forcing, it was persuasion.
As Vinny tried to think of a way to back out of the plan, Belle looked on, concerned that Tom quite possibly doesn’t have Vinny’s best interests at heart.
