Emmerdale Belle and Tom’s romance is TOXIC – four reasons why she needs to abandon the doomed relationship now
BELLE Dingle popped the question to Tom King after initially rejecting his proposal.
But the thought of wedding bells ringing for the couple has left Emmerdale viewers fearing the worst.
Tom King (portrayed by James Chase) returned to the ITV village in 2023, after spending a decade in Saudi Arabia with his sister and mother.
Once he arrived back in the Dales, the hunk familiarised himself with his surroundings, looking for a job as a vet at the local surgery.
While there, he was given a huge shock when he bumped into his former girlfriend Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).
Upon their first encounter as adults, many viewers of the Yorkshire-based program were excited to see Belle finally move on from Ellis Chapman after more than a year, particularly as her relationship with Tom had been left open-ended, meaning anything could have been possible.
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Belle and Tom hit it off once again before eventually deciding to give things another shot.
Unfortunately, while residents rarely change in Emmerdale, circumstances are mercurial and soap watchers soon realised that Belle's fresh romance would not pan out the way they'd hoped for her.
In scenes aired in December 2023, Belle made the decision to ask for Tom's hand in marriage and he accepted.
Here is why Belle should instead be running as far as she can from her beau before it's too late.
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Violent behaviour
Concerns for Belle's well-being were initially sparked when Tom acted out after his luxury car was stolen in the Dales.
As regular viewers may remember, Belle found her other half bloodied after he had seemingly been beaten up.
While she insisted on calling the authorities, particularly in finding his vehicle, Tom persisted and refused her or the police's help.
While his volatile behaviour could have been pinned down to the frustration of being brutalised, Tom's attitude caused a panic when he attacked Belle.
It all began when he proposed to his other half, in the midst of the chaos caused by Craig Reed's death.
At the time, Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) was trying to figure out who was responsible for the death of her former childhood sweetheart and she was clearly shocked by the event.
But Lydia was not only overwhelmed by Craig's death, she was also still trying to cope with the aftermath of her rape.
With all the turmoil taking place around them, Belle thought it would be wise to wait before jumping straight into marriage with Tom and she declined the proposal.
Unfortunately, Tom disagreed with Belle and, frustrated, pushed her into a table, leaving her to hit her head.
Jaws were dropped as viewers found Belle bloodied and it was enough for them to be convinced soap bosses would tackle domestic violence in an upcoming storyline.
And it wouldn't be the first time.
Familiar patterns
Before Tom and Belle, there was Yasmeen and Geoff.
In 2020, rival ITV soap Coronation Street tackled the topic of domestic abuse in a hard-hitting storyline which saw Yasmeen Nazir become a shell of herself under Geoff Metcalfe's control.
Although the abuse was never physical, the Speed Daal co-owner played by Shelley King was worn down psychologically with insults, mockeries and constant arguments triggered by her partner.
The storyline, which showed the impact of mental and emotional abuse on a person, ended in Yasmeen snapping and almost killing Geoff.
While her trial for attempted murder proved that she was the victim all along, Yasmeen struggled to cope with her lingering trauma after her months of torment and Geoff's death only added to her stresses, which were mostly financial.
Viewers will remember that Geoff showed viewers his first handful of red flags by rushing straight into business at Speed Daal with Yasmeen and moving in to her home within a matter of weeks.
Soon enough, Geoff became a prominent part of Yasmeen's life in Weatherfield, taking control of how she took care of her own home, managed her finances and her time.
Yasmeen was isolated as Geoff pulled her away from her friendship with Cathy Matthews, claiming that his partner was an alcoholic and needed to distance herself from bad influences.
In another shock twist, Geoff then took Yasmeen away to Las Vegas, where the pair eloped, and he was left with complete control over her.
But before he became one of the most hated characters in the cobbles, the hospital DJ played by Ian Bartholomew was charismatic, amiable and an expert in corny jokes, bringing a smile to everybody he encountered.
Yasmeen said it herself to her granddaughter Alya (Sair Khan) while she was in prison - Geoff had swept her off her feet and she had no time to consider he could have had nefarious motivations.
Geoff was caring, attentive, passionate and smart, but he was also keen on rushing Yasmeen into more than she could handle - just like Tom.
As mentioned above, Tom was ready to walk down the aisle with Belle within a few short months and, in new scenes, she was shocked to find out he'd planned their wedding without consulting her.
Will Belle realise Tom is displaying plenty of warning signs for her to take notice of?
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Off-screen death
Tragic news of Colleen King reached Emmerdale for the first time in several years as the character moved to Saudi Arabia in 2010 with her two children.
In October, 2023, it was revealed that Tom had lost his mother after she suffered a fatal heart attack.
But since her passing, viewers have suspected that Tom may have had something to do with his mother's death - or even be completely responsible for it.
Soap fans are growing increasingly convinced Tom could be a murderer as alarming tells of his villainous nature continue to pop up, left, right and centre.
"Tom has definitely murdered his mum... why else would he be so shifty? Or maybe the lad who beat him up??", one viewer penned on social media shortly after finding out about Colleen's death.
"I can’t for the life of me understand why Belle hasn’t clocked that there’s something completely off about Tom!", another had added.
Could a new killer be lurking in the Dales?
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Family legacy
Perhaps the biggest sign that Belle and Tom's relationship is fated to go down the drain in a spectacular fashion is the lad's relationship with Emmerdale villain and killer Carl King.
Soap fans have been fearing Tom may end up keeping Carl's terrible legacy alive in the village by going after Belle and even the rest of her family.
Carl King, portrayed by Ingleton actor Tom Lister, died in October 2012 after more than eight years of causing carnage in the Dales.
He was the first member of the King family to settle in the village and was introduced to viewers in early 2004 as the son of Tom and Mary King.
In his debut scene, Carl, who had taken on the name of Carl McKenzie, made everyone believe he was a driver starting off at Tate Haulage.
It later transpired that he was, in fact, a spy for his family's own business, King & Sons, to whom he reported back after a day at Tate Haulage.
This gift for deceiving others was also used in his personal life.
Upon his arrival, Carl King set his sights on Louise Appleton but their romance was unceremoniously cut short when his wife Colleen rocked up.
Colleen dropped the bombshell that, not only was she married to Carl, she was also the mother of his two children, Tom and Anya.
Carl later moved on to Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), unaware that, years down the line, she would be the cause of his downfall.
After getting together officially, Carl and Chas were happy for a while but his thirst for excitement took over and he began an affair with Eve Jenson.
Chas found out about the illicit romance and proposed to him as part of her plot to get revenge by humiliating him.
After asking him to marry her and hinting she was pregnant, Chas was given a whopping amount of money by Carl for their wedding.
Carl ended things with Eve but came to regret it when, on the big day, Chas revealed his affair to the whole village.
His resentment towards Chas began to grow and he was particularly shocked to discover she was having an affair of her own with Cameron Murray (Dominic Power).
Feeling betrayed, Carl blackmailed Chas and Cameron for the money she'd stolen from him for their supposed wedding and this eventually led to a huge showdown between the former lovers.
During the confrontation, which took place in a caravan, Carl attempted to rape Chas.
However, Chas is a Dingle and Dingles rarely go without a fight.
The Woolpack manager struck her former beau over the head with a brick before running away and learning his lifeless body had been found the following day.
This led her to believe she had killed Carl but his love rival Cameron was revealed as the true killer later on.
The King and Dingle families are intertwined once again but could history repeat itself with Belle?
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Will she embark on an affair before eventually getting rid of her controlling other half?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7:30pm on ITV.