Belle Dingle's (Eden Taylor-Draper) peaceful life with Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) is shattered next week in Emmerdale when she receives devastating news: Tom King (James Chase) is being released from prison.
Tom arrived in the village in 2023 and quickly formed a connection with Belle, leading to a relationship that became a horrific ordeal. As part of a domestic abuse storyline, Tom exerted sinister, coercive control over the much-loved character, subjecting her to psychological abuse, cyber-stalking, and harming the family pet, Piper. His actions left Belle terrified and isolated from her friends and family.
Belle receives the worst possible news
Tom's behaviour led to his imprisonment, but upcoming episodes of the ITV soap will see Belle learn he is being released early. In a new video, all seems well in Belle's world as she chats with Sam (James Hooton), Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick), and Kammy about Cain Dingle's (Jeff Hordley) recent fishing trip.
As Kammy leaves for work, he opens the door to a Victim Liaison Officer. Lydia and Sam assume she has arrived ahead of Samson Dingle's (Sam Hall) release from prison, but the woman confirms she is actually at Wishing Well to see Belle. She reveals Tom is getting out of prison, leaving Belle absolutely terrified.
Tom seeks forgiveness
Reeling from the news, things get even worse for Belle when Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin) reveals that Tom has been speaking to him in his role as a prison chaplain. Charles also reveals that Tom has accepted culpability and wants to seek Belle's forgiveness.
Growing anxious, Belle cannot believe Tom is already back in her head before he has even been released. With her mind racing, she decides to confront the issue by visiting Tom herself, leaving viewers to wonder how Kammy and Cain will react.
Discussing his return to the show, James Chase said: 'Stepping back into Tom's shoes is a responsibility I don't take lightly. He is a character driven by obsession and a desperate need for control, and it is both fascinating and challenging to step back into that mindset.'
'The audience knows exactly who he is and what he is capable of, so the challenge now is to show the lengths he is willing to go to in order to get what he wants, even if it means dismantling Belle's life all over again. It's a dark path, and I'm ready to see how far Tom will push it.'
