EMMERDALE’S Belle Dingle finally took a defiant stand against Tom King tonight – but it leaves fans terrified.
The character – played by Eden Taylor-Draper – is steadily becoming controlled by new husband Tom.
Her spouse – played by James Chase – has been demanding sex from his wife, putting her down and trying to control her every move.
Tom has also set up a camera – under the pretence of being to watch their new dog Piper – to keep tabs on his wife.
Emmerdale viewers have been desperate for Belle to realise what her husband is up to and to save herself, and tonight she finally took a defiant step.
Belle had been concerned she was pregnant after her period was late, but Tom was excited at the prospect of being a dad.
Belle reminded her husband they had agreed to wait a while so she could focus on her career, and she was visibly relieved when the pregnancy test came back negative.
Tom, however, was the exact opposite and later on, he piled on the pressure for Belle to change her mind about starting a family.
Coming up behind her in the kitchen, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and begged her to give him the stable family he never had, and Belle reluctantly agreed.
He then got her to ceremoniously put her contraceptive pill in the kitchen bin, before heading out to buy a bottle of non-alcoholic wine to celebrate.
But as soon as he had gone, Belle quickly got the pill packet out of the bin and took one, before looking around for somewhere to hide the rest of them.
She settled on the back of a drawer in the kitchen under a pile of other bits and bobs, clearly determined to stay child-free without Tom knowing why.
While Emmerdale fans were thrilled to see Belle stick to her guns, many fear for her safety going forward if Tom finds out she has disobeyed him.
Taking to X – formerly Twitter – one wrote: “She’ll carry on taking the pill, he’ll find out and go more mental than he already is.”
Another added: “I hope Tom doesn’t find out Belle is still taking the pill. She should just leave him.”
A third tweeted: “Belle my darling, would you not stick the box in the bin and keep the packet so your psycho husband doesn’t cop on ??”
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.