Emmerdale offered a surprise update on Tom King today - as Belle Dingle was left reeling. The ITV soap aired some surprise scenes this evening, as Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) prepared for her one year anniversary with her estranged husband Tom King. Tom was imprisoned for the harrowing abuse he carried out on Belle throughout their short marriage. Tonight, Belle seemed to struggle as she revealed she could finally divorce her husband now they had been married for a year. Admitting she was struggling, Belle said: "It's coming up to my one year anniversary with Tom. It does mean I can finally divorce him. He's gonna fight me on it, I know he will because he can never make anything easy for me. I'm dreading dealing with it.".
Later, as they enjoyed lunch in the Woolpack, Belle's colleague Suzy reassured her it would all be ok. She said: "It should be automatic, a quickie divorce if you get sent to prison for domestic abuse.". "Tom's gonna drag it out, try and make me suffer because that's what he loves. And I don't know if I can face the fight," Belle lamented, as a nearby Charity added: "Are you kidding me? You're one of the strongest women I know.".
Suzy then told her, reassuring it would all be ok, as she explained: "The way you stood up to him. You've already fought him once and won. You've proved you can do it; this one will be easier.". Speaking about his exit last year, James Chase - who played Tom - said. "I always knew to some extent he was going to lose, because we had always had that conversation. Months ago, the producers and I spoke and I agreed with them that Tom had to get his comeuppance," he said.
"So I always knew he was going to [face justice], to some extent. I didn't initially know in what form the justice would take. At one point I thought maybe he'd get killed off but I knew it would be either killed off or sent to prison. It was really important that Belle got justice, because Tom has just done so many things to her. Not only was it important for Belle but it was important for the viewers to see that it can happen. Obviously, there are so many people affected by this kind of thing.".
He added: "Unfortunately, I believe it's all too rare in real life for the victim to get through the system and get the justice they deserve. So I think it was nice to see and hopefully give hope that it can happen.". *For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.
