EMMERDALE fans have been appalled by a recent storyline on the soap, and are now begging producers to bin it altogether after becoming frustrated while watching one character suffer.
Tom King has been abusing his wife Belle Dingle, and things have escalated in recent weeks as he went from belittling her to all out violence.
The tearful woman attempted to stand up for herself and kicked him out of the house after he brutally punched her, but Tom managed to worm his way back into her life.
The vet soon convinced his wife she was the one really at fault as he began manipulating her to think she wasn’t taking her medication.
When he mocked the anniversary of her mother’s death, Belle finally snapped and pushed him to the ground in front of other villagers, leaving him with scrapes and cuts.
Horrified by herself, she called a mental health crisis team and ended up checking herself into an assessment centre overnight.
In tonight’s installment of the ITV soap the confused woman tried to make sense of what was happening between her and Tom, telling a crisis counsellor that the breakdown in their marriage was all her fault.
She seems to have fallen for his gaslighting ways and kept insisting that her husband is her soulmate and she doesn’t know why she tries to push him away.
Viewers had been hoping that her time away from home would make her come to her senses, and were left frustrated to see that Belle is no closer to escaping from Tom’s clutches.
Emmerdale fans took to social media to complain about the drawn out storyline, with one asking: “When are you going to get rid of that horrible man Tom? You don’t realise how hard it is for someone with mental problems. He is a nasty person and does not make good watching.”
Another groaned: “Hate this storyline. There is no way that Belle can be so naive and vulnerable given all that she’s been through. I’m so over Emmerdale. All the stories are miserable. Haven’t watched in 2 weeks and haven’t missed it a bit.”
A third begged: “Please don’t prolong this storyline. It’s horrendous and Belle isn’t that stupid. You’re forcing her to be stupid.”
Things only went from bad to worse as Tom decided to take drastic measures to get Belle back home, fearing she would realise the extent of his abuse while receiving psychiatric care.
He was shown threatening her dog Piper while preparing a syringe to inject the animal with.
Horrified viewers made complaints to Ofcom, with some people who have been watching the soap for decades saying they will never turn it on again if he has killed the furball.
One fan fumed: “If Emmerdale shows piper dead tomorrow, and has detailed a healthy animal has been put down.. totally done with the soap, that’s it! To screen such details tonight at 7.20pm with no on screen warning even thinking it wouldn’t upset people bad mistake ITV.”
Another chimed in: “Reported to Ofcom for showing this.”
A third chimed in: “I agree as much as I love Emmerdale the whole story line in general has broke my heart but tonight’s episode went too far.”
Someone else warned: “If Tom kills the poor cute dog I will never watch Emmerdale again. I have been a fan for over 40 years.”
A fifth blasted: “This was really disgusting you’ve gone too far now, end this disgusting storyline. You won’t be getting any votes for the NTA’s with this evil.”
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