ITV Emmerdale has announced that a special one-hour long episode will air in December as Belle Dingle finally gets the strength to report her abusive husband to the police

Emmerdale is set to thrill fans with a gripping hour-long special as Belle Dingle and Tom King’s intense storyline of coercive control reaches its dramatic ending.

The ITV favourite ramps up the tension as Belle finally musters the courage to report her husband to the police. An extended episode this December will highligh true stories from survivors, setting the stage for the domestic abuse saga’s finale.

Emmerdale boss Laura Shaw revealed: “When we first embarked on this journey we knew we wanted to show domestic abuse, coercive control and manipulation in all its guises.”

“The privilege we have on a drama such as Emmerdale is being able to show the reality of a situation like Belle’s over a longer period of time to authentically reflect what so many people go through in real life on a daily basis.”

Shaw hinted at justice, promising viewers: “We knew from the outset that Belle would need some sort of closure on Tom and we know our Emmerdale audience always look forward to our villains getting their comeuppance.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Without giving the game away, she teased: “We don’t want to spoil the outcome of this story and reveal what will happen to Tom, but needless to say, Belle’s going to be in a much better place by this Christmas.”

Lindsay Oliver, CEO of New Beginnings Peer Support, has thrown her support behind Emmerdale’s storytelling choices, commenting: “When Emmerdale explained they hoped to include the real life testimonies of domestic abuse victims and survivors within these scenes we knew it would be the truest way for them to authentically close this storyline.”

She also added, “We have been on board with this story since 2023 when Emmerdale first approached us about depicting a cohesive and controlling relationship on the series.”

She concluded by saying, “We are pleased Emmerdale have highlighted and are continuing to showcase this issue right to the end. And we hope these final episodes will continue to raise awareness about domestic abuse, controlling relationships and the fact there is help out there.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX