ITV Emmerdale to air domestic abuse storyline as Belle Dingle's marriage takes dark turn

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Emmerdale is set to tackle a storyline about coercive control and domestic abuse involving characters Belle and Tom King. The newlyweds have just returned from their honeymoon on the ITV soap, but it's clear that not everything is rosy.Belle was questioning her decision on her wedding night, and now she seems to be losing sight of what a normal relationship should look like.

The show has teamed up with charities New Beginnings Peer Support and Refuge to create the storyline.As the story unfolds, Tom who is played by James Chase will begin using technology to control and monitor Belle, played by Eden Taylor Draper, reflecting the increase in tech abuse and use of tracking devices since the Covid pandemic.Producer Laura Shaw said: "Soaps are in the extraordinary position of being able to highlight what happens behind the public face of an abusive relationship, over a longer period of time.

The audience knows these characters so well, sometimes as well as they might know their own friends and family, and they care deeply about them."She added: "As harrowing as it can be to watch this type of storyline play out, it's imperative that we use our platform to shine a light on domestic abuse, and help give a voice to people who have so often been silenced."Taylor-Draper confessed she grasps the weight of such an important storyline.

She said: "It is an important story to tell. Soaps offer the viewer a glimpse of life behind closed doors and reveal what people present to the world isn't always a truth. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. "The sad reality is that behaviour like this in a relationship is all too prevalent.