ITV Emmerdale’s Tom King continues to target Belle Dingle as abuse plot escalates

Emmerdale spoilers tease Tom King will deliberately target his wife Belle Dingle’s latest job venture in upcoming scenes on the ITV soap.

Amid the soap confirming a sad abuse storyline for the pair, Belle is left devastated as her work is sabotaged next week, and while it is said to be an accident there could be more to it. Belle was left worried recently when she shared her hopes to work with fellow villager Suzy Merton in a collaboration.

Belle was hoping to combine her wellness venture with Suzy’s wedding and event planning opportunities, but Tom made it clear he was not happy. So when Belle decided not to go through with it she was baffled when he acted as though it was fine after all.

Viewers witnessed Tom gaslighting and manipulating Belle, with her not realising what he is up to. But it seems he continues his mind games next week. Spoilers reveal that amid Belle working hard on a new proposal for the role, conveniently something happens that threatens to ruin this.

Belle and Tom look after Tom’s cousins Elliot and Carl while their parents Jimmy and Nicola are visiting Angel in upcoming scenes. But Belle’s left horrified when she finds her laptop has been broken with a milkshake spilled over it.

It’s thought to have been an accident caused by one of the kids, and Belle’s gutted as the chances of her completing her proposal drastically diminish. But were the kids to blame, or has evil Tom deliberately broken the laptop to stop Belle from fulfilling her new job venture with the others?

Tom has been exhibiting clear signs of coercive control and there are indications this could develop into physical abuse, as well as mental abuse, as last year Belle covered up the fact that Tom shoved her, causing her to hit her head. So far, Belle has kept Tom’s behaviour to herself, and now it’s been revealed that the soap will be exploring the complex nature of domestic abuse over the coming weeks with various manifestations of abuse, including coercive control, emotional abuse, physical abuse and technology-facilitated abuse displayed by Tom.

It will also highlight how abuse escalates over time and how isolation from family and friends, love bombing, and manipulation can be used. Emmerdale has been working with outside partners to research the hard-hitting topic, as well as domestic abuse charity New Beginnings Peer Support, after a rise in Tech Abuse following the Covid pandemic, which involves using trackers and hidden cameras to control and track a partner.

Talking about the storyline, producer, Laura Shaw, said: “Soaps are in the extraordinary position of being able to highlight what happens behind the public face of an abusive relationship, over a longer period of time. The audience knows these characters so well, sometimes as well as they might know their own friends and family and they care deeply about them. As harrowing as it can be to watch this type of storyline play out, it’s imperative that we use our platform to shine a light on domestic abuse, and help give a voice to people who have so often been silenced.”

Meanwhile, Belle star Eden Taylor-Draper said: “When we first heard from the producers the way the Tom and Belle relationship story was going to go, we were fully aware of the responsibility that would bring. But it is an important story to tell.

“Soaps offer the viewer a glimpse of life behind closed doors and reveal what people present to the world isn’t always a truth. The sad reality is that behaviour like this in a relationship is all too prevalent. I hope we do this story justice. And if people are in a situation like this they should definitely get help.”