There were stomach-turning scenes in Wednesday (September 4)’s Emmerdale, as vile Tom King (James Chase) used a ‘relationship’ with Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) as a way to get at Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) – and as it was only Belle who could clearly see what was going on, she was helpless to do anything about it.
Belle recently told Tom their marriage was over, after she realised that he’d been responsible for running over her dog, Piper, and killing her (though viewers know the little dog survived, Tom cruelly led Belle to believe he’d put her to sleep).
Tom is now living with his aunt and uncle, Nicola and Jimmy King (Nicola Wheeler and Nick Miles), but his obsession with Belle continues as he’s filled her house with cameras so he can watch her constantly and he’s been accessing her computer remotely.
He’s also started a relationship with Amelia, who has obviously fallen for his superficial charm and honestly believes he’s serious about her – so much so that she told Kerry (Laura Norton) about the relationship in this episode.
Kerry and others were worried about Amelia and Tom being together, but not for the obvious (to the viewers) reason that he’s an evil monster. They were more concerned that Tom might still be on the rebound from Belle.
Seeing Tom and Amelia together terrified Belle, as she could see that he was simply manipulating the younger girl to get at her. She was even more concerned when she heard that Tom was talking about getting a puppy for Amelia’s daughter Esther.
This obviously brought back memories of Piper and Belle shared her worries with Charity (Emma Atkins). Sadly even Charity, who was the first to spot that Tom was being abusive to Belle, dismissed this by saying Tom was ‘not her problem’ any more.
Belle tried to warn Amelia, but she’s been completely taken in by Tom and accused Belle of jealousy. Meanwhile Tom was eavesdropping on the conversation with a satisfied grin on his face that his plan was working.
When Belle returned home, Tom was already there and this time he was quite blatant about the fact that he had his own key and had let himself in.
She begged him to leave Amelia alone, and he said there was no need for Belle to be jealous, though he would be jealous too if the roles were reversed. Taking her hands he said it would be ‘So good if we got together again.’ Then he kissed her.
‘I’m never giving up on us, Belle,’ he said. ‘Believe it. We belong together. You’ll see, in the end.’ Then he left, and Belle looked shaken to the core.
This is leading to a special episode set to air tomorrow (September 5), which sees Belle wandering the village in a daze, as three potential scenarios for her future play out in her mind.
‘To do a whole episode dedicated to her fears and her worries does feel very special,’ Eden Taylor-Draper said.
‘The episode is a real journey. There are some really bizarre things, some really emotional things and I really enjoyed playing all those different versions of Belle. It is a new chapter. It’s the start of Belle really taking matters into her own hands and finding strength and courage. I think it is very important. I really enjoyed what the ending entailed.’
