Emmerdale viewers think they rumbled how evil Tom King will leave the ITV soap as they predict a thrilling Christmas plot will see the vet murdered by a mystery villager

Emmerdale villain Tom King (James Chase) is yet to be convicted of domestic violence following his harrowing abuse towards his estranged wife Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).

The long-running ITV soap has chronicled Tom’s heinous mistreatment of Belle, and the heart-breaking impact her husband’s behaviour has had on her as Belle is now seeking treatment for her mental health struggles.

Despite Belle breaking away from their marriage, she has not escaped Tom’s clutches easily; he swears to trap her indefinitely. Meanwhile, the village vet has embarked on a romance with Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) merely to invoke jealousy in Belle and to paint himself as an ideal partner rather than a villain.

Having reported Tom’s violence to the authorities, Belle is currently pinning her hopes on his broken iPad revealing proof of his domineering nature – a vital piece of evidence to avoid prosecution for assaulting him with an axe, which was an act undertaken in self-defence.

This week, Tom continues to act innocent as he tried to provoke an attack from brother-in-laws Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Sam Dingle (James Hooton) will attending to an animal at Butler’s Farm. Cain pushed Tom to the floor but held back from a violent attack.

Now, Emmerdale viewers are convinced Tom is tormenting the villagers in anticipation of a huge ‘whoodunit’ plot that will see him murdered at Christmas.

Taking to Reddit, one Emmerdale fan predicted: “They’re setting Tom up to be killed at Christmas and it’ll be a ‘Whodunnit’.”

They added: “I’m calling it. A tired old soap plot line but you can see it coming. The way he’s in people’s faces now, like yesterday Cain and Paddy – he’s going to go around the entire village giving everyone a reason to kill him.

“Then there’ll be tonnes of episodes showing who did what from their perspective. And it’ll end up being Amelia that kills him. Or someone totally random like Claudette.”

A second replied: “It could be Jimmy that’d be good. Also, Tom King Sr. (Jimmy’s dad, Tom’s grandad) was killed on Xmas day 2006. He fell out of a window, and one of the witnesses was Belle who was singing a carol. They could mirror that somehow, that’d be good.”

A third stated: “I said this at the beginning of the storyline, they’re setting up a “Who Killed Tom King Jr” which is ironic considering Classic Emmerdale is currently at 2006 the year of “Who Killed Tom King Sr”.”

“Well Amelia, Brenda and Leyla are both leaving, so …..who knows?!”, added one viewer while another speculated: “PLEASE let it be Claudette.”

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX