DS Foy is about to have the last laugh as he wipes that smug look off manipulative Tom King’s (James Chase) face in an Emmerdale. Not a moment too soon.
Tom only knows how to win, so he’s been pretty perturbed the last few weeks at the feeling of being out of control as those around him began turning against him – with the Dingles burning an effigy of him and his own aunt Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) disowning him.
The police are still sniffing around, another thing Tom has lost control of. His mask is starting to slip.
Aware he his slowly inching closer to trouble, he decides he needs to get Nicola back on side. He pleads with her to trust him in a last-ditch attempt to rally support, but he’s barking up the wrong tree. In her own words, she sees right through him.
Talking about how Tom survives under this pressure, actor James Chase gave a cheeky insight to Metro: ‘He gets an energy from it and feels quite invigorated and proud of himself when he does succeed in talking himself out of these scenarios.’
He gets a thrill from almost getting caught.
But still, he must get Nicola back on side as things are getting a bit too close to the bone. He turns to Amelia (Daisy Campbell) to help pressure Nicola into forgiving him. She is of course manipulated into doing this, and he does so with the promise of a future engagement for the two of them.
The couple face Nicola together, but she is not moved.
Giving an insight into how this affects Tom, James reveals: ‘I think Tom is surprised at first that he hasn’t managed to win her over because he has succeeded every other time and with every other person he has tried to convince before.’ A little clue that Tom is about to lose for the first time.
Tom then decides to move to plan B – to get Amelia to leave Emmerdale village with him. It’s a tactic to separate Amelia from her loved ones, like he did with Belle (Eden Taylor Draper).
‘Like when he went away to Wales with Belle, it was a way for him to fully control her and to have her to himself,’ James explains. ‘So I think this maybe a similar thing whether it’s subconscious or not. Essentially the less people around that Amelia knows, the more she is going to have to rely on him and I think he quite enjoys that.’ Twisted.
Before she can give him an answer, Sam (James Hooton) gatecrashes their conversation, incensed at what he’s just heard and well aware of Tom’s veiled plan for Amelia.
Enraged Sam heads to the police station to check on the progress on the investigation but is frustrated to learn it has stalled.
At this point, if Tom were to just leave, he might get away with things. But a narcissist can never not have the last word.
At home alone, Belle heads upstairs to have a bath. As she does so, Tom sneaks in and has a root around the place. He steals one of her tops before skulking back out. Belle then bumps into him outside and he delights in taunting her.
But then Belle notices Amelia wearing her top – and this is the moment Tom starts to come undone.
Belle makes the accusation and Amelia is left gobsmacked, but it sets off Amelia thinking. She confronts Tom, but he’s at breaking point. He snaps at her and violently forces her out of the house. But his thuggish actions are witnessed by Jimmy (Nick Miles) and DS Foy. DS Foy is there to take him to the station for further questioning, so the timing couldn’t be worse, for him.
Tom thinks a little bit too much of himself in this scenario and believes he can outsmart the police.
‘He thinks he can get away with it as he has a sort of God complex,’ James teases. ‘He thinks he’s incredibly intelligent. He is intelligent. Tom is cunning, conniving and clever – and I would kind of compare him to Littlefinger from A Game of Thrones.’
Unfortunately for Tom, he is far from a God, and he comes unstuck pretty fast. Will Belle finally get her justice?
‘He always has a plan,’ James says. ‘Trying to scare Belle, manipulating those he can. Tom always has got a plan, and he’s got something up his sleeve because he has to if he wants to get out of this situation on top.’
So while Belle gets the result she needs, Tom is not done just yet. Quite simply, as James says: ‘There’s more to come’.
