Emmerdale fans could be seeing a dramatic Christmas exit for evil Tom King on the ITV soap, with his downfall sealed.

Soap producer Laura Shaw has revealed when fans will likely see the ongoing coercive control storyline featuring Tom King and Belle Dingle come to an end. Amid Tom’s controlling and manipulating behaviour escalating to violence, Belle is trapped in her abusive marriage.

Things are only set to get worse for Belle amid Tom uncovering her abortion lie in upcoming episodes, with Laura confirming things would continue to “escalate”. Laura also revealed that with this, the storyline would be going on for months to come.

Amid questions over when Tom will be exposed and whether he will face a comeuppance, actor James Chase has teased an exit will likely happen. Addressing a shelf life for his character, he suggested Tom “had” to be found out and face punishment.

But details from producer Laura may have teased when Tom will leave, and when the storyline will reach some conclusion. Laura’s hints may have revealed one of the soap’s big Christmas storylines, and drama set to air over the festive period.

Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has revealed how long the coercive control storyline featuring Tom King and Belle Dingle will continue for ( 
Image:
ITV)
She explained to The Mirror and other press: “We said right from the beginning we wanted to tell the story as truthfully and authentically as we can. This isn’t something that is over in a couple of weeks, it goes on for a long length of time. Viewers can expect the storyline to run until the end of this year.”

By saying “the end of the year”, it seems likely that Tom’s behaviour will be rumbled around Christmas time. Perhaps Laura was addressing his exit scenes or even the moment Belle begins to come to terms with her abuse, meaning Tom could be found out much sooner.

Then again, her comment that the storyline will run until the end of the year could very well mean Tom will be on screen until this point, and maybe a Christmas exit or dark scenes involving the pair on this day could be on the cards. It comes as James said of Tom facing his comeuppance: “I think it has to happen because it’s what he deserves.

“He can’t get away with it. I don’t know to what extent [how it will end]. Belle needs justice for what’s happened to her and the audience needs that. We have to see her win in the end or for him to lose.”