Emmerdale spoilers: Tom King gaslights Belle Dingle with blackmail over having children – but she’s not having it

Tom King (James Chase)’s behaviour continues to be troubling in Emmerdale as he tries to control the life of his new wife, Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).

We’ve seen some overtly nasty actions from Tom previously. The most obvious was when he pushed Belle and injured her, but there was also his almighty sulk on their wedding night that left Belle in tears and sleeping alone on the sofa.

Currently his efforts are more subtle, and taken individually you might not even notice them. But a pattern of behaviour has emerged and we can see that Tom has a twisted vision of what married life should be like and how Belle should fit into that – and he’ll do anything to make that a reality.

A huge bone of contention is Belle’s decision to put off having children so she can focus on building up her wellness business. Tom wants a house full of little Kings (or princes and princesses) and Belle has assured him that’s what she wants too – just not yet.

He is desperate to remain in control

In Tuesday (March 19)’s episode Tom had to go and help Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) rescue a cow that was stuck in a cattle grid, so asked Belle to hold the fort at the vets until he got back. Suzy (Martelle Edinborough) came in looking for Vanessa and was surprised to see Belle.

She wasn’t as surprised as Belle was when she heard that the job at Take A Vow was still open and Suzy had asked Tom to pass on a message about it to his wife. Of course Tom did no such thing because the last thing he wants is for Belle to get a new job that would make her even less likely to want to start child-bearing instead.

Belle didn’t say anything to Suzy about Tom not passing on the message, but when Tom returned she was angry with him and told him it wasn’t fair on her to go around saying no to things on her behalf.

Tom reminded her she had other priorities. ‘Your business, your family’ – dramatic pause – ‘Me.’ As Belle started to feel guilty he ramped up the emotional blackmail.

‘I’ve just got this dream of us being the perfect little family, coming home to you and the kids, and the dogs.’

Belle reminded him that this wasn’t what she wanted.

‘I’ve just got this fantasy in my head,’ he continued. ‘Probably overcompensating for my cruddy childhood.’

If this was supposed to make Belle crumble by reminding her that he’d had a difficult upbringing, it certainly didn’t work. She pushed back, telling him gently that they would have all the things he dreams about, just not yet. ‘When we’re both ready,’ she insisted.

Well, Tom is ready now – and it’s worrying to contemplate how far he might go to push his own agenda. We know that the storyline is going to begin to explore the issue of abuse via technology, as Tom uses trackers and hidden cameras in his mission to control Belle.

The soap has worked with domestic violence charity New Beginnings Peer Support, whose CEO Lindsay Olive said, ‘We very much welcome Emmerdale covering this storyline to highlight the realities of domestic abuse, red flags within a relationship and the challenges of leaving.

‘Domestic abuse remains a hidden pandemic and the more information in the public domain to increase awareness, the higher the chance of perpetrator behaviour being recognised and victims gaining the support they require.’