Tom King (James Chase) confessed to disposing of his tablet in Emmerdale after he was caught out by Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) in a big lie.
The abuser, as viewers know, is being investigated over how he treated wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) during their marriage and the tablet in question possesses the evidence to prove what he’s capable of.
Carl Holliday (Charlie Joyce), Tom’s cousin, was in possession of the device when the police came calling, with Tom subsequently terrifying the schoolboy into handing it over, threatening him with the prospect of jail time.
Nicola noticed her son’s unusual behaviour in the weeks that followed, with Carl quite evidently terrified of Tom. In a bid to get to the bottom of what was going on, she sat Carl down and quizzed him on the matter.
Tom subsequently received both barrels from the matriarch, who demanded to know why he terrorised Carl if he had nothing to hide.
Tom, in typical Tom fashion, claimed that Carl was lying but he was forced to come clean about the tablet when Nicola revealed that the little boy had witnessed him smashing up the electronic device.
Tom revealed that he had footage of Belle from his hidden camera on the tablet, which he claimed he only installed to keep an eye on her as he was worried about her mental health.
He stated that he knew how such a thing would look following Belle’s allegations and thus that’s why he disposed of the device.
Jimmy (Nick Miles) believed Tom’s explanation. Nicola, however, did not, reiterating that she won’t be bullied or manipulated by the abuser.
Tom preyed on Jimmy’s vulnerability, telling him that he’s like a father to him. What’s more, he asked him if he’d ever made a mistake, knowing full well that this would prompt his uncle to recall how he and Nico nearly covered up Angelica’s (Rebecca Bakes) involvement in Heath Hope’s death.
After succeeding in manipulating Jimmy, Tom headed upstairs, playing the big man as he told Nicola that he would give her some time alone with Jimmy to process and discuss what they’ve learned.
Jimmy was quite clear that he believes Tom’s lies, refusing to turn his back on him. But Nicola reiterated that they need to put the kids first.
It’s clear that she doesn’t believe a word Tom has to say. Will her doubts prove beneficial in the fight to expose Tom for who he truly is? Has Belle found an unexpected new ally in the form of Nicola?
And with Nicola and Jimmy now on opposite sides, will this situation leave their marriage in tatters?
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX.
