Emmerdale’s Eden Taylor-Draper has opened up on the ITV soap’s current domestic abuse storyline involving her character Belle Dingle and Tom King, played by James Chase

Emmerdale’s Eden Taylor-Draper has subtly suggested that Cain Dingle might play a role in Tom King’s downfall with a cryptic comment.

The actress, who portrays Belle Dingle and is 26 years old, attended the National Television Awards at London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday (September 11) where she discussed her latest ground-breaking plotline.

In recent episodes, Belle courageously revealed the abuse she’s been enduring from her wicked husband Tom (James Chase). Following this, the village vet has vanished, fearing retaliation from Belle’s brother Cain (Jeff Hordley).

Hinting at what Cain might do next, Eden stated: “Who knows what Cain’s going to do? The Dingles are the most loyal family so it’s obviously its going to rock a few boats so we’ll see. I feel like we need justice in a storyline like this. I feel like if justice is served everyone will be happy”, reports the Mirror.

Eden, who has portrayed fan favourite Belle since 2005, also shared that she was taken aback by the number of messages she’s received from fans who have experienced abuse similar to her character on-screen.She expressed: “I could not have expected the amount of messages and stories people have told me.

“People have been so open and trusting me with their journeys so it’s meant the world. I said from the get go if this helps one person I’ll be really proud and happy and I really hope we have.”

After Eden dropped hints about a “new chapter” for her character Belle, anticipation has been building. She shared: “This is a new page in Belle’s life. It is a new chapter. It’s the start of Belle really taking matters into her own hands and finding strength and courage. I think it is very important. Without saying the ending – I really enjoyed what the ending entailed.”

While the fate of Tom remains up in the air, Emmerdale creators have confirmed that this plot will unfold throughout the year. Producer Laura Shaw disclosed: “I think you can expect that this storyline is going to run until the end of this year.”

She further elaborated on the storyline’s trajectory, saying: “‘I think we’ve always had a good idea in our heads exactly where we wanted it to end, if I’m honest. Obviously we’ve found new twists and turns as we’ve gone through but we’ve always had a pretty clear picture in our heads of where it would end.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm