Category: News

Emmerdale star James Chase has spilled the beans about what happens as Tom King’s campaign of control against wife Belle Dingle comes to an end after months of abuse.

Nicola is convinced that the Dingles are right about Tom, and the rest of the village have turned against him, meaning Tom’s only allies are girlfriend Amelia and uncle Jimmy.

But even those loyal supporters are about to wonder if  Tom’s really as nice as he’s pretending to be!

We sat down for a chat with Emmerdale star James, who plays evil Tom, to find out what happens as his alter ego’s nice-guy persona begins to crumble.

Persuading Nicola

With Nicola not budging, Tom’s determined to make her see that he’s an ‘innocent victim’ despite him being guilty of everything Belle’s accused him of!

So how is he going to talk Nicola into believing him? Well, he ropes Amelia in to help him!

“I think Tom is definitely pressured when he is trying to convince Nicola that he is genuine about everything that he is saying,” James tells us.

” I think in a weird way Tom does thrive under pressure and he enjoys it – as he gets an energy from it and feels quite invigorated and proud of himself when he does succeed in talking himself out of these scenarios.”

Tom plans to move away in Emmerdale

But despite Tom loving the drama, things don’t go well and Nicola is far too savvy to be convinced by his attempt to win her over with Amelia’s help.

And we know Tom doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way! So how does he react?

“I think Tom is surprised at first that he hasn’t managed to win her over because he has succeeded every other time and with every other person he has tried to convince before,” reveals James. “But I think he’s very quick to then move onto the next thing. Thinking how do I move on to a scenario where I am going to win?”

Tom’s next move is to suggest to Amelia they they move away together. What’s the plan there?

“It’s partly because he is hated in the village!” admits James. “But also it’s like when he went away to Wales with Belle, it was a way for him to fully control her and to have her to himself. Essentially the less people around that Amelia knows, the more she is going to have to rely on him and I think he quite enjoys that.”

Tom messes with Belle’s head in Emmerdale

With the walls closing in, Tom steps up his scheme to mess with Belle’s head. He steals one of her tops and gives it to Amelia. Creepy!

“It’s all about getting her in the worst state possible so he can selfishly benefit,” explains James. “He knows he’s grinding her down when he knows she’s seen Amelia in her clothes.”

And that’s when things fall apart! Belle tells Amelia that the jumper is hers, and Amelia asks questions.

“Tom is really cross,” says James.  “He berates Amelia immediately. His mask has slipped! He drags Amelia out into the street.”

The mask is slipping!

But Jimmy’s there and he sees what Tom’s up to!  And with perfect timing, it’s when the police arrive, too, to question Tom.

He’s taken in for questioning by DS Foy. How does that go?

“He tries to keep his cards close to his chest because at the end of the day unless it’s actual evidence they have, Tom is going to deny it – as it’s in his interest to do that. In the interview room he attempts to manipulate the situation and tries to show to DS Foy he is actually the victim. Tom is doing that as much as possible to try and look innocent.”

And meanwhile, Jimmy is reeling from seeing Tom dragging Amelia out of the house. So will he realise Tom’s been lying?

“It’s only a matter of time,” says James. “I think Jimmy will have to start reading the writing on the wall at some point. Of course his uncle Jimmy doesn’t want to believe that Tom is a bad man but eventually Tom fears Jimmy will realise the truth.”

But despite all this, Tom still thinks he can get away with it even though the police are onto him!

“He has a sort of God complex,” says James. “Tom is cunning, conniving and clever – and I would kind of compare him to Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. He’s good at manipulation. He’s good at turning people on each other for his own benefit. He enjoys playing people and playing scenarios. He has no empathy or morality.”

Tom plays the victim in Emmerdale

“There are things that have happened like the axe going in Tom’s back and of course he has eye witnesses of people who saw Belle pushing him over,” James reveals. “He thinks he’s got a lot of ammunition against her. He wants to win and believes he still can.”

It’s no secret that this storyline is coming to an end, and James will be saying goodbye to Emmerdale.

So how has the experience been?

“I feel very proud of the people I’ve worked with,” says James. “The scenes with the burning of the guy – and then squaring up to the Dingles was a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of fun working with Daisy (Campbell, who plays Amelia). It has been an amazing storyline, it has been intense – a real rollercoaster of emotions but it’s been amazing. I’m really proud of what we have done. Eden Taylor-Draper (AKA Belle) has been totally amazing. There is more to come!

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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