ITV Emmerdale Tom’s downfall ‘nears’ after Lydia remark amid devastating Belle exit

Emmerdale aired a harrowing twist on Friday night as Belle Dingle exited the village to go to a mental health crisis assessment centre amid a dark Tom King storyline.

The ITV soap is tackling a coercive control storyline with the characters, and fans have seen Tom isolating and manipulating his partner Belle. With his vile behaviour worsening recently and him having her under surveillance, recent episodes took an even more heartbreaking turn as Tom turned violent.

On Thursday’s episode, Tom, who pretended to get help earlier this week but actually told doctor Liam Cavanagh that Belle has a problem, resorted to new desperate measures. During the instalment, it was the anniversary of Belle’s mum Lisa Dingle’s death. However, Tom refused to acknowledge the day and instead of letting Belle go on a family picnic to mark the anniversary, he manipulated her into waiting at home for a parcel claiming it would be delivered at 1pm.

Tom then headed to a performance review interview, where his co-workers at the vets Rhona Goskirk and Vanessa Woodfield had some criticism to give him. After realising he wasn’t getting a glowing review, he then manipulated the duo by using Lisa’s death anniversary. Meanwhile, Belle waited until after 1pm to which no parcel arrived and then headed to join her family, who had already left without her.

After learning Belle hadn’t waited in for his parcel, Tom blamed her for ruining the day and started making harsh comments about her later mother Lisa. Seeing red, Belle snapped and pushed Tom over as he fell to the ground, which was witnessed by many villagers. Tom then made out he was a victim as a shaken Belle was comforted by Lydia and Sam Dingle.

On Friday’s episode, in a bid to isolate Belle any further, Tom tampered with her medication, leaving the vulnerable character upset and confused as she reached out to a mental health crisis team for support. After Lydia, Sam and Cain insisted Tom leave Belle to have the meeting alone, they returned to find Belle being led away as she revealed she was heading to a mental health crisis assessment centre.

Tom was against the idea as he tried to stop Belle from going, who insisted it was just for a little bit, while Lydia, who picked up on Belle not being herself, commented: “It’s for the best, they’ll get to the bottom of exactly what’s been going on.” Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers are convinced Lydia’s remark was a foreshadowing clue at Tom’s fate as fans hope Belle will expose him at the centre.

One person said: “Now Belle will piece it all together in a safe environment… #Emmerdale All I’m gonna say is, be afraid, Tom.. Be very afraid!”, a different account put: “Time away from you and she’ll tell. Farewell Tom! #emmerdale”, another wrote: “Tom’s s******g himself…. he cant control what she does or says now… hopefully they see she’s been physically abused by him #Emmerdale” while a different fan added: “Tom is s******g himself now that the mental health team won’t find anything wrong with belle and work out it’s Tom causing her problems.”