Next week on Emmerdale, Belle is cornered by Tom, Victoria discovers John’s secret, and Charles’s quarrel with Laurel takes an unexpected turn.
1) Belle makes a shocking discovery
Tom’s (James Chase) shadow continues to loom over Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) next week, as the fallout from her leaving him continues. Belle has recently found the courage to speak out about her husband’s abuse, but fearing reprisals from Belle’s family, Tom is now hiding out in the woods with only new girlfriend Amelia (Daisy Campbell) secretly aware of his whereabouts.
“I don’t think she really sees a light at the end of the tunnel,” Eden Taylor-Draper tells us as Belle remains concerned about Tom’s next move. “I can imagine she thought everything was going to be okay once she opened up. But actually, like in real life, it doesn’t just end there and there is more to the story. It’s important that we show that but it’s obviously very hard to watch it unfold.”
Next week, Belle is forced to return to marital home, Dale Head, when unimpressed landlord Kim (Claire King) calls to say the house has been left in a mess.
Belle is supported by Lydia (Karen Blick) as she heads over to the cottage, both surprised by the state it’s been left in—unaware that Tom had secretly returned to remove all evidence of his covert surveillance on Belle.
But it seems Tom wasn’t very careful during his clean-up operation, when Belle discovers a screw on the floor which actually houses a tiny hidden camera. They’re horrified by the realisation that Tom must have been watching Belle all along, after he invited her to move back in to Dale Head which he’d vacated.
“It’s the most unnerving, sickening thing that has happened so far,” Eden explains. “Obviously there’s the physical side of it, but mentally this is horrific because it’s in her home. It’s where she’s felt safe, and I don’t think she can really wrap her head around it.”
Belle feels completely violated, but Lydia is concerned when Belle later refuses to go to the police about Tom. Belle fears that there would be further repercussions, and is terrified about the prospect of having to relive her traumatic experience in a courtroom.
After further thought however, Belle has another talk with Lydia, asking her sister-in-law about her own experience in reporting attacker Craig (Ben Addis) to the police last year.
“Belle doesn’t know what to do and she doesn’t feel safe in whatever she does,” Eden continues. “Lydia opens up about her decision in reporting Craig, how she got to that point and what that meant for her. I think Belle just being open and honest with Lydia, and Lydia being the same back, really helps her have clarity on what she should do next.”
The conversation does bring back upsetting memories for Lydia, but she is hopeful that she might just have said enough to convince Belle to finally go to the police…
2) Amelia’s deception puts Belle in danger
Meanwhile, Amelia is continuing to blindly defend Tom against Belle’s ‘accusations’, and has a go at Belle and Chas (Lucy Pargeter) for their relentless campaign against him when she comes across them talking in the back room of The Woolpack.
Amelia continues to deny knowing of Tom’s whereabouts, but both Amy (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Kerry (Laura Norton) are dubious of her claims.
Later in the week, Belle is buoyed when it appears as though Amelia’s stance on Tom is changing. Hoping that Amelia will now be saved from a similar fate, or worse, Belle agrees to meet her at Wishing Well in order to talk things through.
But as Belle waits home alone for Amelia, she’s horrified when Tom walks in!
Tom proceeds to close and lock the door behind him, trapping Belle inside with no means of escape.
What is Tom’s plan?
3) Victoria discovers John’s secret
Elsewhere in the village, Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) is still doing everything she can to get to know long-lost half-brother John (Oliver Farnworth), despite his continued reluctance to stick around.
Circumstances have seen John stay in the village despite his initial plans to leave, but Victoria is frustrated that John remains a closed book, sharing little about himself whilst also not having any interest in his newfound family.
“I think she’s frustrated that they’re not on the same page,” Isabel Hodgins told EverySoap and other media during a recent press call. “They’re not both mutually thrilled to have found one another. But I think she’s determined, and once Victoria’s determined about something, that’s it. So, she’s going to try her damnedest to make it work and make it stick.”
When Victoria convinces John to join her and Matty (Ash Palmisciano) in the pub, she’s keen to show him some old family photos on her phone, but ends up further frustrated by his lack of interest.
“She’s kind of twisted his arm already to get him in the pub and said ‘Oh, I found some old pictures I’d like to show them,‘” Isabel continues. “She’s going through them and he’s really not bothered. Even Matty picks up on this and tries to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, they’re really cool…Oh, that’s your mum, that’s nice’ and she’s getting nothing from John.”
Annoyed that John is glued to his phone, Victoria snatches it out of his hand to see what’s so important. She’s stunned to find some saucy messages from Aaron (Danny Miller) on there, unaware that John has been having a secret fling with their former brother-in-law.
“I think she’s shocked because she’s now got this relationship with Aaron where it’s back to ‘Victoria and Aaron’, rather than Aaron being with Robert,” Isabel states. “First and foremost, Aaron is her friend, so there’s a little sense of betrayal there.”
“But then her reasoning is that Aaron is a bit of a liability. And if they continue to see each other and it goes wrong, John’s going to leave, which is the last thing she wants!”
Victoria is quick to start interrogating John on her discovery, but he opts to storm out the pub rather than answer her questions, leaving Victoria wondering what else he could be hiding.
When Victoria later heads over to apologise to John, she finds his van empty, and can’t resist having a little shifty around.
“She has been very full on, but I swear it’s an accident,” Isabel laughs. “I’m a little sister in real life and we snoop, it’s what we do, we’re good rooters!”
Coming across a little tin that John was very protective of a few weeks ago, when Victoria had caught a glimpse of some dog tags revealing John had been in the army, she opens it to find the dog tags are actually inscribed with the name Aidan Moore.
Just at that moment, John returns to his van and is furious to find Victoria going through his most personal possessions, immediately throwing her out.
Victoria is left more confused than ever about her brother.
“She’s suspicious because she’s either been drip fed or found everything out by accident,” Isabel adds. “I just think she wants the chance to be able to have the frank conversation where she says ‘Let me ask you my questions, please answer them and let’s actually start to build a relationship’“.
Will John ever be able open up to Victoria?
4) John races to save Eric
Later in the week, John’s medical background again proves useful when he comes to the aid of Eric (Chris Chittell) during another medical emergency.
John’s actual role in the army as a medic only recently came to light, when he sprung into action following the barn fire at Butlers.
Whilst at Brook Cottage surgery, Eric displays some discomfort which John immediately recognises as signs of an angina attack.
John quickly finds a GTN spray to administer to Eric, preventing the attack from worsening.
John’s swift response impresses Liam who sings his praises, and John goes on to gladly accept a job at the surgery.
It appears John is here to stay!
5) Charles and Laurel’s arguing takes an unexpected turn
Also next week, Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) finds herself butting heads with both vicar Charles (Kevin Mathurin) and his mum Claudette (Flo Wilson) over the plans for the village’s harvest festival.
Laurel is keen to put a modern spin on things to encourage more involvement, but Charles and Claudette are not impressed with the break from tradition.
The three bicker during a meeting in The Woolpack, as Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) struggles to keep a straight face.
Charles is later furious when he discovers that Laurel has gone ahead with some of her ‘modern’ ideas despite his reservations, and the two end up in a heated argument.
But as the two let rip at each other, there’s a sudden realisation that there’s something else going on.
Before they know it, Charles and Laurel’s anger has turned into lust, as the two begin passionately kissing!
The pair are taken aback by their sudden attraction to one another as they continue making barbed comments, before they decide to head upstairs together.
6) Is Manpreet’s heart about to be broken?
Meanwhile, Manpreet is talking with Jai (Chris Bisson), who despite bitter divorce proceedings is still pining for Laurel. Blissfully unaware of what is going on between their respective exes, Manpreet encourages Jai to tell Laurel how he feels, whilst also considering her own former relationship with Charles.
Deciding to take her own advice, Manpreet heads over to Woodbine in the hope of rekindling things with Charles, but what will she find when she gets there?
7) Whose life is in danger?
As the week comes to a close, a dramatic turn of events sees an ambulance rushing to the aid of a village resident… but who could it be?
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