ITV Emmerdale Tom King twist 'sealed' and it's bad news for Belle Dingle

Emmerdale viewers were in for a shock on Wednesday evening as the troubling storyline involving Tom King and Belle Dingle took another turn.

In recent episodes, Belle had to defend herself against the menacing Tom by striking him with an axe, after he threatened her life following months of abuse. Later at the hospital, Tom claimed to police he drew a "blank" and couldn't pinpoint his assaulter.

The tension escalated on Tuesday night when Tom offered Belle a deal - drop her accusations of his abuse, even though they are true, and in return, he wouldn't pin the attack on her to the authorities. It looked as though Belle was going to go along with the plan.

Tom maintained his deceitful stance at the hospital by feeding the police a story about being set upon by two unknown men. As the episode came to its climax, viewers saw a resolute Belle make her way to the police station to bravely tell the truth, confessing: "I've attacked my husband in self-defence, he wanted to kill me, I'm a victim of domestic abuse", reports Leeds Live.

The drama continued into Wednesday's episode, where Tom found himself taken into police custody for questioning after being discharged from hospital. During police questioning, Tom falsely accused Belle of abuse and claimed he had installed secret cameras to monitor her due to her mental health issues. He remained composed when informed that all electronic devices would be seized, asserting that any footage was automatically deleted after 24 hours.

However, a slip-up occurred when Tom inadvertently told his solicitor about multiple hidden cameras and existing footage on a tablet with a distinctive zombie case, which the police had overlooked.

As his solicitor highlighted the gravity of the situation, Tom panicked, realising the implications if the tablet were discovered: "Oh my God, they're going to think I'm some sort of creep", he said, fearing it would be "game over" if found. The episode ended with a hint that Jimmy King's son Carl, who was playing with the tablet at Jimmy's house where Tom had been staying, might find the footage.

Viewers took to Twitter, now X, to speculate that Carl might uncover the footage and inform his parents, leading to either Jimmy or Nicola erasing it in an attempt to shield Tom, potentially adding a frustrating twist to the storyline.

One person said: "Jimmy & Nichola will find the footage and delete it #Emmerdale", a different account put: "Swear to god if Jimmy finds the footage and deletes it to protect his precious Tom I’m going to lose it #emmerdale", another wrote: "Nicola or jimmy is going to find the footage and delete for sure #emmerdale" while a different account added: "Nicola or jimmy is going to find the footage and delete for sure #emmerdale."

*If you have been affected by this story, you can access free and confidential support from Refuge’s 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 and digital support via live chat Monday-Friday 3-10pm. You can also visit the tech safety website to learn more about technology-facilitated abuse.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.