Emmerdale spoilers: Belle begs for help in ‘never before been done episode’ as she finally sees menacing Tom for who he is
Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) has slowly become aware of Tom King’s (James Chase) true colours, but now she doesn’t know how to escape him in Emmerdale.
Tom’s latest abhorrent behaviour has seen him smash Vinny over the head with a paperweight, belittle him over his sexual status, and force himself on Belle. Terrified of getting pregnant by her menacing husband, Belle has been secretly taking the pill, something that would no doubt send him into melt down if he ever found out.
She organises a clandestine trip to the GP to organise with Manpreet that her medication is not sent to her home address to avoid detection.
Will Manpreet recognise the signs of domestic abuse and raise the alarm bell?
Explaining these upcoming scenes, Eden Taylor-Draper said: ‘So from the minute they got married, Tom was very quick to bring up having a baby. Belle quite clearly said, let’s slow down. I think Tom put the pressure on by saying, well, I don’t have a family, you are my family and I want a family. This is my dream. Belle, after quite a few episodes of him pushing for it, says, okay, yeah, we can have a baby. And straight after that it’s like, what am I doing? I don’t want to have a baby right now.
‘I don’t think Belle quite realises herself that she knows she doesn’t want to have a baby with him. I think she just thinks I’m too young and I’ve got too much going on. She goes to see Manpreet to organise collecting her pill so Tom doesn’t find out, which is huge for her. I think that’s the first time she’s done something that she thinks if he finds out, this would be terrible.’
Elsewhere, Tom is triggered when he makes a wrongful diagnosis while working on an elderly dog – he calls cancer without carrying out the appropriate tests, causing Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) to step in and save the pooch, whose only ailment is an abscess.
The customer is furious and Tom plays victim as Vanessa blames him, turning the tables on her over her supposed treatment of him. She’s shocked by his outburst, and even more shocked when he invites all the vet staff over for a dinner party.
As often happens in domestic abuse situations, Tom takes this anger home.
The guests arrive and there’s tension with Rhona and Marlon over her actions in court. Tom makes a toast about marital solidarity, highlighting the issues with Marlon and Rhonda, while leaving Belle in tears, knowing it’s all lies. Making her excuses, she leaves.
She works hard on making a delicious dinner for everyone, but Tom is critical of every step, further chipping away at her resolve. He tells her that her outfit is inappropriate and that she must change immediately. Wanting to placate him, she does as she’s told.
But while she’s gone, Tom makes a discovery that puts Belle in danger. He can’t act immediately as they have guests there, so he encourages them to go to get her alone.
Poor Belle knows what’s next and in a cry for help, is desperate for them all to stay. What has Tom found, and what will he do with it?
