Vile Tom King (James Chase) finds new ways to isolate his wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) in upcoming Emmerdale episodes when he decides to take control of her finances by insisting that her money goes into a new joint account along with his.
Tom’s coercive control over Belle has already seen him obsessively track her movements via an app and also on cameras that he’s had installed in the house.
He’s insisted that the cameras are for Belle’s own peace of mind after they were burgled – though viewers know that there was no burglary and Tom invented the whole thing to cover for the fact that he’d smashed the place up in a rage.
We’ve also seen Tom attacking Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) in a fit of jealousy and leaving him for dead, but again the rest of the village is unaware that Tom was the culprit.
A special dinner party episode recently featured intense scenes between Belle and Tom after he discovered that she’d been hiding the fact that she was still taking the contraceptive pill while he believed they were trying for a baby. As he fumed about Belle being ‘manipulative’ and ‘unhinged,’ he grabbed her hand and held it under the hot tap, scalding her.
Episodes to be aired soon see Tom getting into a rage as he watches Belle on the puppy cam. She’s chatting to Lydia (Karen Blick) and Mandy (Lisa Riley) at home and the conversation turns to Tom.
They’re playfully teasing about him, but as he watches he’s seething with fury. He heads out, determined to put a stop to his wife and her family members having fun at what he sees as his expense.
Belle is nervous when he arrives home unexpectedly, worried about what mood he will be in. As usual he puts up a friendly front when there are other people around and he’s pleasant to Mandy and Lydia.
But the minute they’ve gone, his mood switches and Belle is soon terrified as he turns on her again.
How bad can things get for poor Belle?