In recent weeks, Emmerdale fans have become more annoyed as Tom King continues to get away with his abusive behaviour towards Belle. But is Nicola about to catch him out?
Tom’s abuse of Belle has been an ongoing story for the last year, with producers not wanting to rush such an important issue.
However, we’ll soon be able to celebrate as Tom’s comeuppance is on the way.
Emmerdale: Tom and Belle abuse story
After 10 years away from the village Tom returned to Emmerdale in April 2023. Having previously dated as teenagers, Tom and Belle Dingle reconnected and resumed their relationship, eventually getting married.
However it wasn’t long before Tom’s behaviour turned increasingly manipulative. From isolating Belle from her family and using puppy cams to spy on her to controlling her movements and even locking her in the house, Tom turned Belle into a shadow of her former self.
Violence has also been involved. One distressing scene saw Tom hold Belle’s hand under a scalding hot tap, while on another occasion he punched her in the stomach after hearing her talk about him.
Although Belle found the strength to end the marriage, the torture didn’t stop there. Tom run Belle’s beloved dog, Piper, down and then pretended Piper had died – really, Piper is alive and vet Tom allowed another couple to adopt her.
He also tricked Belle into meeting him – a meeting that ended with Tom having an axe in the back. But somehow he walked away relatively unscathed.
In recent scenes, Tom continued his manipulation by sending Belle flowers. But when she confronted him, he denied it and called the police on her for violating her bail conditions, resulting in Belle being arrested. That guy clearly has no shame.
Nicola gets suspicious of Tom
There are lots of threads that could lead to Tom’s comeuppance. At the heart of it is THE tablet.
Although Tom destroyed it, Moira has seen some incriminating evidence on it. The only problem is, she had a seizure shortly after and now can’t remember.
Tom’s cousin Carl also witnessed Tom destroying the tablet. It was always a risk that someone would see given that, for reasons only known to himself, Tom decided to destroy the tablet in the village in broad daylight.
Tom proceeded to bribe Carl into keeping quiet about what he had seen. But soon Nicola will become suspicious about why her son is scared of Tom.
So far, Tom has managed to fool his dopey uncle Jimmy, but scenes next week will see Jimmy’s wife Nicola realise there could be some truth to Belle’s accusations.
When Nicola tries to speak to Carl, he clams up. Later Nicola gives Tom a grilling, and even Jimmy becomes concerned by some of the things he hears. Nicola then threatens Tom with the police, but will Tom manage to squirm his way out again or is this finally the moment we’ve been waiting for?
Read more: A history of violence: What happened between Tom and Chas
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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