Speculation has been rife for weeks as to who will finally end Tom King (James Chase) in Emmerdale. Do we have our guy?
Or gal, as it may be, as it looks distinctly like Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler), of all people, could be the one to be Tom’s undoing.
We know that Tom is due to leave Emmerdale when the storyline comes to a head around Christmas which suggests that a dramatic twist is heading for this tale. And a suspicious Nicola could be the one to bring it about.
The catalyst to this is that Tom recently lost his composure when young Carl took his tablet, which happened to be filled with evidence of Tom’s abuse of Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).
He went to great lengths to retrieve the device, which included him intimidating the young lad into submission. Carl revealed he’d given it to Isaac, and Tom set about breaking into Butlers to get it back.
He managed to, by the skin of his teeth, but not before he threatened to hit an unwitting Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) with a candlestick. Tom then returned home and violently smashed the tablet with a rock – secretly being watched by a terrified Carl.
Thinking he’d got away with it, and everything else for that matter, Tom then broke bail conditions to tell Belle she’d be going away for a long time.
But Carl now knows of Tom’s violent side – and who knows how much he saw on that tablet.
He grows increasingly anxious around his cousin, and Nicola picks up on the unusual vibes. She notices that Carl seems to be afraid of Tom and starts to question his behaviour.
Nicola has already had doubts having learned about Tom filming Belle, so this is fuelling her concerns.
Now that Nicola is aware of Carl’s unease, she’ll be watching Tom like a hawk. Tom is becoming comfortable thinking he’s got away with everything, which is prime time for a slip up – cockiness is often the undoing.
It’s a matter of time before he lets his guard down, and Nicola will be there waiting, ready to protect her son. Will she be Belle’s unlikely saviour and the one to make sure she gets the justice she deserves?