Recent Emmerdale episodes have seen Belle Dingle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) abuse storyline come to a head, and it’s set to get even worse when evil husband Tom King (James Chase) lures her to a remote cottage.

This comes after he was rushed to hospital, due to striking rotatory isolator with a metal pipe. Tom had exploded in a fit of rage after finding out Belle had secretly had an abortion instead of a miscarriage, and lashed out while in the barn at Butler’s farm.

He suffered a high voltage electric shock and was declared dead after his heart stopped for a minute.

But Emmerdale fans are divided when it comes to this particular plot, with many feeling the story has gone on for too long.

Responding to a Metro.co.uk Facebook post asking viewers for their opinions, one user, Carol Auld, shared that they find it ‘too horrible’ and ‘awful to watch’ – despite describing the acting as ‘amazing’.

Deborah Warrington added: ‘I’m aware this has to be drawn out but it’s very uncomfortable to watch’.

Meanwhile, Sharri Davies said: ‘I’ve stopped watching now…it’s boring me’, while others branded the storyline as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘sensationalist’.

However, many have praised Emmerdale for Belle and Tom’s storyline, pointing out that this can be the reality of an abusive relationship. Some bravely shared their own experiences of coercive control.

Charley Strong wrote: ‘It took 9 years for me to be conditioned, controlled, coerced and then trapped by my ex… What’s being shown of Tom and Belle’s relationship is just a fraction of the abuse and length of time that primary victims of intimate partner abuse experience a traumatic existence.’

Viewer Sachin Chahal added: ‘Abuse can happen for years. It might not be nice to watch but it needs to be talked about. It’s like with serious illness storylines- they can’t end in a week or month. It needs to be told accurately’.