Tom King’s history revealed as his abuse of Belle Dingle in Emmerdale descends to disturbing new lows
Emmerdale character Tom King (James Chase) might have appeared to be a changed man when he returned to the ITV soap – both in personality and in the actor playing him – but recent scenes have confirmed he is an evil, manipulative abuser.
At the start, his relationship with Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) appeared to be going well, but things took a seriously dark turn when Tom snapped at Belle over not wanting to get married, which resulted in him pushing Belle into a table.
Now that they’re married, Tom’s abusive behaviour has continued.
The character first returned to the Dales last year after leaving in 2013, after making it his mission to make Chas Dingle’s (Lucy Pargeter) life a living hell following the death of his father.
Find out about Tom King’s Emmerdale backstory here, as well as his most recent storyline – and who’s playing him now?
Here’s all you need to know.
Who is Tom King in Emmerdale?
Tom King (also known as Thomas) is the son of Carl King (Tom Lister) who was dramatically murdered in a live episode of the soap in October 2012.
The character believed Carl’s former fiancee Chas to be responsible for the killing and set out for revenge with a campaign of stalking against her.
However, it later transpired that it was Carl’s love rival Cameron Murray – who had been having an affair with Chas – and was responsible for the killing.
He proceeded to make her life a misery, sending her disturbing photos of her and Carl with her eyes cut out, making anonymous phone calls to the pub, and injuring her when he threw a glass bottle at her outside the Woolpack.
He was eventually caught after trying to scrawl graffiti on the wall of the pub’s living room.
Tom later sparked a secret romance with Belle. He made plans to run away with her – but eventually, he left for Saudi Arabia with his mum Colleen (Melanie Ash), leaving Belle behind, and breaking her heart in the process.
The character who returned in 2023 is quite different to the troubled teen that he once was, having qualified as a vet while living abroad.
In February 2024, it was confirmed Tom and Belle would be part of a storyline that sees Tom physically and emotionally abuse Belle, as well as control her via the use of technology.
Discussing this storyline, producer Laura Shaw said at the time: ‘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.’
Who plays Tom King in Emmerdale?
Tom is being played by actor James Chase, replacing actor Mark Flanagan, who originally starred as the character.
When he first arrived, James spoke about Tom and Belle rekindling their romance, saying that in spite of his shady past his intentions for her are ‘genuine’.
‘They were childhood sweethearts and they loved each other,’ he explained.
‘Even though there was a lot of drama going on in his life at that time, she was a real shining star for him, the one good thing he could remember that gave him hope and love.
‘He’s come back to Leeds to work as a vet there, it just so happened that’s where he was transferred to, and then he realised “I’m much closer to the village, now could be the time to get closure and perhaps to see her again.”
Oh, how things have changed.
What has happened between Tom and Belle in Emmerdale recently?
After Tom and Belle tied the knot, their relationship has developed into something incredibly dark and toxic.
In episodes of the ITV soap that have aired over the past few months, Tom has been responsible for attacking Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson), a move that only came because he was jealous of Vinny and Belle’s connection.
He has also installed cameras in their house so he’s able to watch Belle at all times.
Elsewhere, expressing his opinion on Belle’s family is something Tom does an awful lot.
During an afternoon to celebrate Marlon Dingle’s (Mark Charnock) birthday, things took an upsetting turn for Belle when Tom said how much he hates the Dingles, and ended up kicking an urn that contained Lisa’s ashes.
In April 2024 episodes of Emmerdale, Belle felt jealous when she entered the Woolpack pub to see Tom showering Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) with compliments, saying that she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman who always looks like she’s ‘just stepped out of a style magazine’.
In instalments of the ITV soap that have aired at the end of April/throughout May, Tom has continued to abuse Belle physically. He was responsible for holding her hand under a hot tap until she was burnt, and also punched her in the stomach so hard, it caused significant bruising.
After Tom lied to Belle about getting help for his mental health, he paid a visit to Doctor Liam (Jonny McPherson) and told him that Belle is the one with anger problems, not him.
This false narrative was fuelled days later, when village residents watched Belle push Tom over after he wound her up with hurtful comments about her dead mother.
Aware her mental health was struggling, Belle decided to check into a mental health unit after speaking to a nurse. This development left Tom incredibly fearful, as he knew full well Belle could tell someone about his abusive behaviour, or a health professional could work it out.
With that, Tom conjured up another plan which left audience members horrified.
Tom concluded in his mind that if he was to poison Piper the dog and then inform Belle her beloved pooch was unwell, she would return home and therefore, be placed back under his control.
Emmerdale continues weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
