Next week on Emmerdale, Tom electrocutes himself as he learns the truth about Belle’s actions, Matty gains a menacing new cellmate, and Pollard continues to take advantage of Jai.

Belle’s facade (Eden Taylor-Draper) begins to crack next week, as she struggles to keep it together after secretly aborting abusive husband Tom’s (James Chase) baby.

Tom has been manipulating Belle to the point where she’s come to believe her mental health has taken a nosedive. When Belle was forced to blurt out that she was pregnant to avoid a beating from Tom, Tom was over the moon, having been vocal in his desire to start a family.

But Tom’s gaslighting has backfired on him. With Belle not feeling able to cope with being a mother whilst her mental health is supposedly unstable, she opted to terminate the pregnancy, and was forced to take Tom’s car to attend a clinic in Hotten.

After returning Tom’s car to the vets, Belle’s rush to hide from her husband as he subsequently returned from a call-out meant she failed to spot her ticket from the car park had fallen into the passenger footwell, waiting for Tom to discover it…

Next week, Belle has a visit from her mental health care co-ordinator Rachel (Natasha Cottriall) who wants to ensure she’s doing okay following her early departure from the mental health clinic.

The situation with Tom is playing heavily on her mind though, and Belle ends up admitting to Rachel that she told her husband she’d had a miscarriage after the termination.

As the appointment goes on, Belle fears that her behaviour is beginning to throw up some red flags for Rachel about Tom’s coercive behaviour.

Belle’s desperate to get Rachel out of the house before she reveals too much, but as Rachel tries to talk Belle down, the reality of the relationship begins to finally hit home for Belle.

Rachel suggests that Belle could do with some time apart from Tom, and whilst terrified at the prospect of taking such action, Belle reluctantly agrees.

Arranging to go and see niece Debbie (Charley Webb) and dad Zak (Steve Halliwell) in Scotland, Belle packs a case and books herself a taxi…

Meanwhile, over at Butlers, Belle’s story is already beginning to fall apart when Tom learns from Noah (Jack Downham) that Belle had gone into town yesterday for an appointment, rather than joining Amelia (Daisy Campbell) walking Piper as she claimed.

When Tom eventually discovers Belle’s true whereabouts the previous day, everything falls into place and his anger boils over.