AN Emmerdale star has revealed their character’s suspicions are set to be raised amid Tom and Belle King’s domestic abuse storyline.
Upcoming scenes of the ITV soap will show relatives Charity, Chas, Mandy and Lydia quiz Belle about her relationship with Tom during a girls’ night at The Woolpack.
Charity takes the lead, as she presses Belle to open up about what’s going on in her marriage.
Struggling with the difficult questions, Belle runs off however the Charity persists after finding her upset outside the pub.
Right when it appears Belle might reach out for help, she sees Tom heading over and shoves Charity before rushing home in a panic.
Although Tom claims that Belle is behaving strangely because she’s struggling with her mental health, will Charity believe him?
Speaking to press about the storyline, Emma Atkins, who plays Charity, explained she felt her character would be the one to recognise signs of abuse, due to past experiences.
This includes noticing behavioural changes in Belle, including seemingly being closed-off and not having any desire to socialise.
Concerned, Charity lets Belle know about her feeling that something may be wrong.
Emma explained that with Tom being in a wheelchair after being electrocuted, Belle is acting like a “frightened housewife” around him.
Despite this, the actress added her character seems to be the only one who sees anything wrong.
One example is questioning Tom calling Belle’s mobile during the girly night, pointing out he is “round the corner.”
She reiterates to Belle that it’s supposed to be a time to have fun and Tom shouldn’t be disturbing her.
Emma added she believed having a character start to suss out Tom would “excite the audience” while they also hope the twisted vet will be caught out.
In the storyline, the other Dingle ladies fear that Charity is overreacting, but she refuses to back down and continues to keep a close eye on Belle.
Emma told Digital Spy: “Charity is beyond frustrated when the others doubt her. When she comes face-to-face with Tom in the street and there’s this stand off, Belle runs off crying and Charity’s instinct is to run after her.
“Tom comes up in the wheelchair and stops her and says ‘Enough, you leave Belle to me’. He just shuts her down right there in the street and she’s just dumbfounded.
“She’s like ‘holy moly, this is another level of control.”
Recent Emmerdale scenes saw Tom become enraged after learning Belle had lied about miscarrying their unborn child.
In actual fact, Belle made the heartbreaking decision to have an abortion, adamant she can’t keep Tom’s baby.
Furious Tom destroyed everything within reach in the barn, where he was alone but soon became involved in a life-threatening accident.
He hit the barn’s barn’s rotary isolator with a metal bar, electrocuting himself and also knocking himself unconscious.
After being discovered by Paddy (Dominic Brunt), Tom was rushed to hospital where he was saved by medical staff.
Everything you need to know about Emmerdale
As Charity’s suspicions rise, Tom attempts to secure a new job in a remote part of Wales and arranges an online interview.
The villain then lies to Belle about how they’ll be taking a holiday to Wales, keeping quiet about how he intends it to be a permanent move.
Will Tom’s new plan come to fruition as he tries to get Belle away from her family?
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
