Up Next
Belle Dingle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) happy life with Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) is about to come to a halt in Emmerdale next week, as she receives news that Tom King (James Chase) is being released from prison.
In 2023, Tom arrived in the village and quickly connected with Belle which eventually led to them starting a relationship.
This was the start of an absolutely horrific ordeal for Belle. As part of a domestic abuse storyline, Tom exerted sinister, coercive control over the much-loved character.
From psychological abuse and cyber-stalking to harming the family pet, Piper, Tom’s actions left Belle terrified and isolated from her friends and family.
Tom’s behaviour led to him going to prison, but upcoming episodes of the ITV soap will see Belle learn that he’s being released early.
In this new video, all is well in Belle’s world. She’s chatting with Sam (James Hooton), Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) and Kammy about Cain Dingle’s (Jeff Hordley) recent fishing trip.
As Kammy leaves for work, sorry, t’work, he opens the door to a Victim Liaison Officer. Lydia and Sam assume she’s arrived ahead of Samson Dingle’s (Sam Hall) release from prison, but the woman confirms she’s actually at Wishing Well to see Belle.
She reveals that Tom is getting out of prison and, obviously, the news leaves Belle absolutely terrified.
Reeling in the aftermath of the news, things get even worse for Belle when Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin) reveals that Tom has been speaking to him in his role as a prison chaplain.
Not only that, Charles reveals that Tom has accepted culpability and wants to seek Belle’s forgiveness.
Growing anxious, Belle can’t believe Tom’s already back in her head and he hasn’t even been released yet. With her mind racing, she decides to confront the issue by visiting Tom herself.
But how will Kammy and Cain feel about this?
Discussing his return to the show, James Chase said: ‘Stepping back into Tom’s shoes is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. He is a character driven by obsession and a desperate need for control, and it is both fascinating and challenging to step back into that mindset.
‘The audience knows exactly who he is and what he is capable of, so the challenge now is to show the lengths he is willing to go to in order to get what he wants, even if it means dismantling Belle’s life all over again. It’s a dark path, and I’m ready to see how far Tom will push it.’