The following article references coercive control and domestic violence.
Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Belle Dingle has been left devastated following another setback in bringing abusive husband Tom King to justice in Emmerdale.
Earlier this week, Tom was arrested on suspicion of coercive and controlling behaviour as well as assault after Belle reported to police he’d been physically and emotionally abusive.
Belle confessed that she’d struck Tom with an axe in self-defence after she’d been locked into Wishing Well Cottage with him.
Tom was concerned to hear that the police planned to seize all of his electronic devices as evidence since his tablet contained damning hidden camera footage from Dale Head.
Thursday’s (October 3) episode saw the tablet change hands after Jimmy King’s son Carl originally found it and used it to play video games. The soap flashed to Carl using it — this time with Isaac Dingle. Isaac took the tablet off Carl, urging his friend not to “be a baby” by telling Nicola.
Two detectives stopped in at Wishing Well later in the episode with bad news for Belle that their search of Tom’s electronic equipment “came up empty”.
“Please, he wants me gone for good,” Belle desperately explained. “And what he wants, he gets.”
The detective explained that “without concrete evidence” there wasn’t much more he could do to bring Tom to justice.
Belle realised that if she couldn’t prove that Tom abused her, it was likely she’d go down because of her confession.
Moira later found Isaac playing with Tom’s tablet, and after examining it, discovered that it contained incriminating videos that Belle could use against Tom.
She went to leave Belle a voicemail but suddenly had another seizure when she tried to find Mack. Viewers know that Moira has been having seizures ever since she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Mack found Moira dazed in the forest near the farm, but she had no memory of why she’d been searching for him. Moira didn’t recognise the tablet so Mack set it on the bookcase.
Next, Tom met with his lawyer at Victoria Cottage, where he was encouraged to keep his new girlfriend Amelia Spencer by his side because it would “poke a hole” in Belle’s abuse allegations.
“[The police] have got nothing, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe,” the lawyer told him.
However, the lawyer urged Tom to find the missing tablet because if the police got to it first, he could be “done for”.
Will the Dingles discover what’s on Tom’s tablet?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
