EMMERDALE’S Tom King stooped to a sick new low with his abuse of Belle Dingle as he drove a major wedge between his wife and her friends.
The vet has slowly been increasingly his control over new wife Belle, and even faked a robbery at their home last week to leave her feeling unsafe.
In tonight’s double episode – which aired due to tomorrow night’s programme being taken off air for the football – Belle was still shaken by the previous week’s events.
Tom asked his aunt Nicola to come round and keep Belle company, but was clearly put out when he came home early from work and found Belle laughing with Vinny after he’d popped round and took over from Nicola.
Managing to convince Vinny to make a swift exit, Tom later surprised Belle with Piper, the cute dog he had first brought home earlier this month.
Belle now agreed that a dog would be great to keep her company, and Tom added that he had even got a ‘pup cam’ so they could keep an eye on the pooch when they were both at work.
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But Emmerdale viewers then saw Tom outside under the pretence of taking the bins out, watching Belle and Piper on his phone, revealing the true nature of why he had bought the equipment.
Unsuspecting Belle continued to think her husband had her best interests at heart, but in later scenes, Tom managed to find a way to put a wedge between Belle and Vinny.
The pair had been enjoying walking their dogs together when Belle had the chance to go into work at Take A Vow.
Vinny kindly said he would look after Piper while she went in, before heading to the scrap yard to grab something.
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He tied up both dogs, but in a later scene, he came running towards Belle and Tom in a panic saying Piper had gone missing.
Belle went mad at Vinny and when Piper still couldn’t be found, Tom watched his phone with glee as the camera back at home showed Belle clashing with Vinny once again over her missing dog.
All the while, Piper was safe and unharmed in the vets with Tom, who had quickly grabbed her when Vinny’s back was turned.
Having caused tensions between the pals, Tom smiled smugly as his twisted plan continued to take shape and push Belle further into his control.
Emmerdale confirmed the harrowing abuse storyline in February.
Producer Laura Shaw said: “Soaps are in the extraordinary position of being able to highlight what happens behind the public face of an abusive relationship, over a longer period of time.
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“The audience knows these characters so well, sometimes as well as they might know their own friends and family, and they care deeply about them.
“As harrowing as it can be to watch this type of storyline play out, it’s imperative that we use our platform to shine a light on domestic abuse, and help give a voice to people who have so often been silenced.”
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
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Jill Robinson
