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Isolation for Belle King as Tom Exerts His Control

Next week on ITV1 and ITVX, Emmerdale viewers will witness the chilling extent of Tom King’s (James Chase) coercive control over his wife Belle (Eden Taylor Draper) in a gripping self-contained episode.

In a manipulative move, Tom takes Belle to a remote holiday cottage in Wales, further cutting her off from her friends and family. Fans of the show are already worried about Belle, who has been at the mercy of Tom’s volatile and violent temper.

Producer Sophie Roper explains, “When Tom takes Belle to Wales, his coercive and controlling behaviour will see Belle further isolated from her family. The behaviour Tom King is exhibiting is typical of a coercive controlling relationship and at times will prove difficult and uncomfortable to watch. The assistance the charity Refuge has given us whilst researching this storyline has been enormously helpful in bringing this incredibly important storyline to our screens.”

In a flashback episode, viewers will see Tom and Belle’s seemingly happy arrival at the cottage. However, as Belle overhears Tom arranging to extend their stay, flashbacks reveal the week’s harrowing events, showcasing Tom’s physical and emotional control over Belle and their dog Piper. Belle finds herself completely at Tom’s mercy, realizing she’s cut off from everyone she loves.

Emma Pickering, Head of Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment at Refuge, adds, “Working with Emmerdale on this storyline we really wanted to capture the isolation and control that we know underpins domestic abuse. That is illustrated in a very literal sense in this cottage episode, but we know often survivors are isolated from their families and communities over time in a deliberate act from their perpetrator to remove them from support systems, making it very difficult for them to leave their abusers.

“We know some viewers have found the Belle and Tom storyline hard to watch at times, but it is so important when we are talking about domestic abuse and covering it, even in a fictional sense, that it is true to life. We are so grateful to Emmerdale for allowing us to feed in with our expert knowledge and the vital awareness this storyline is raising about this issue.”

The episode was filmed in Yorkshire, with Emmerdale’s design and construction team creating the holiday cottage. Head of Design Gillian Slight explains, “The location is actually part of Emmerdale’s village complex, it’s on the outskirts and hasn’t really been seen by the viewers so it’s believable that it’s a property 300 miles away from the Yorkshire Dales. We have total access and control over the building, so we were free to decorate and furnish the interior and exterior. The garden was basically a pile of builders’ rubble, so landscaping and planting was necessary to make it look pretty. The whole job took about four weeks to complete.”