Tom King (James Chase)’s abuse of his wife Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) in Emmerdale reached a sickening new level recently when he was physically abusive to her once again.

His outburst came after he saw her on the puppy cam, chatting with Lydia (Karen Blick) and Mandy (Lisa Riley).

Mandy made some teasing remarks about what Tom might be like as a dad, after they’d been discussing Belle trying for a baby. Because he’s a vet, like Paddy (Dominic Brunt), Mandy joked that he might need to be told that changing a nappy wasn’t the same as ‘wrangling a piglet.’

The comments were lighthearted and funny, but as Tom watched he was seething with anger at what he saw as Belle and her family members disrespecting him. When he got home he kept a veneer of niceness – but as soon as he was alone with Belle he made his feelings known by violence.

But rather than talking about his own problems, Tom tells the GP that it’s Belle who has problems controlling her anger. he says that Belle is exercising coercive control over him and he’s finding it very hard to deal with.

Tom has been at pains to hide his behaviour from outsiders and has ensured Belle won’t say anything by frightening and humiliating her. But her family start to realise that something is wrong.

Lydia and Mandy talk about Belle and agree she hasn’t been herself – and they start to worry. Their worry gets worse when Belle repeatedly fails to respond to their calls and texts, which is not like her.

They become concerned that something terrible might have happened to Belle.

Although they’re still not suspicious of Tom, could Mandy and Lydia soon suspect that Belle is in danger from her husband?

Source: New York Post