EMMERDALE fans have been left ‘stressed out’ as Belle Dingle’s harrowing ordeal at the hands of abusive husband Tom King continues.
Belle had been planning to escape her twisted spouse after weeks of emotional and physical abuse in recent episodes.
But after Tom was electrocuted following a rageful outburst at the realisation Belle had lied to him about their unborn baby, he was hospitalised and she decided to stay by his side.
In tonight’s Emmerdale episode, Tom was seen in a wheelchair getting Belle to do his bidding, much to the annoyance of an increasingly suspicious Charity Dingle.
At one point, Tom encouraged Belle to go out and meet Charity, but as she went upstairs to get sorted, he stood up out of his wheelchair, perfectly fine.
When he heard her returning, he quickly lay on the floor and cried out in faux agony, pretending to have fallen out of his wheelchair, and making Belle feel like she couldn’t leave as a consequence.
The couple also had an awkward lunch date with Jimmy and Nicola King where they handed over a box of baby clothes, only for Tom to tell them they had lost their unborn child.
Back at their cottage, Belle asked Tom why he lied for her – now that he knows she had an abortion not a miscarriage – and he made her feel even more guilty with his reply.
He said: “Probably because I was too ashamed to admit the truth, I shouldn’t be lying to him it’s wrong.
“You get that right? You get that some things are just wrong! You don’t half make it hard to love you sometimes Belle.”
His manipulation worked, and Belle lashed out at Charity when she called at the cottage to try and speak to her later in the episode.
Emmerdale viewers were at their wits end with the tense scenes, with one writing on X: “#emmerdale and the Belle/Tom + the Matty/Samsung storyline is stressing me out.
” I know it reflects reality but the emotions are too much at times. #FreeMattyBarton #ImprisonTomKing. The wrong person is in jail & the wrong person is free.”
Another added: “I need Belle to turn into Helen from Diary of a Mad Black Woman and f*** Tom UP! I am so serious!”
However, hope could be on the horizon as Charity called Chas and Lydia Dingle round to hers to share her concerns over Belle’s behaviour.
She said: “It just feels like we never see her any more, not without him in tow anyway. I would just like the opportunity to speak to her on her own.”
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Lydia recalled a recent altercation she and Mandy had had with Belle, and how she overreacted.
Charity asked: “What if she’s got tangled up in something she can’t get out of? Let’s face it he’s pretty intense, he was stalking you at one point remember!”
As the two other women remained silent, Charity exclaimed: “All I’m saying is that something’s not right here. It’s just not adding up! And if Belle needs our help, we’re stepping in right?”
Viewers were thrilled to hear it, with one writing: “Charity is smart she knows Tom is a bad man. Unfortunately the domestic violence storyline will continue for a while longer.”
Another added: “I can’t wait to see Charity go into full Miss Marple mode and bring down Tom.”
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
