Not only did the police have evidence against him, but when he arrived to arrest him DS Foy (Robert Cavanah), alongside Jimmy King (Nick Miles), witnessed at first hand Tom showing his true colours, as he marched Amelia (Daisy Campbell) forcefully out of the house.
‘Until now Jimmy has stood by his side but as evidence starts to come forward and the sheer amount of people who are against Tom. I think Jimmy will have to start reading the writing on the wall at some point,’ James Chase told us.
‘Jimmy has now just seen him dragging Amelia out of the house physically. The more these things start to happen, Jimmy will start querying the feeling he gets in the back of his head.’
On hearing from DS Foy that Tom had finally been charged, Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) broke down with relief, hoping that her ordeal was over. It was also a huge relief that the charges against her, for attacking Tom with the axe, had been dropped as it was clear she’d acted in self defence.
Unfortunately for Belle, Tom’s arrest is not the end of the story. Even though he’s in prison, he’s determined to try to do what he can to control events and when he’s contacted by his cousin Angel (Rebecca Bakes), he thinks he has the perfect person.
Angelica has recently finished a sentence in a young offenders’ unit for causing the death of Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling) by dangerous driving.
Having returned to the village she’s finding it hard to settle in and has refused to go back to school.
Her vulnerability makes her an easy target for Tom’s manipulative techniques and he soon has her convinced that he’s the wronged party and everything that’s happened is Belle’s fault.
Oblivious of this, Belle gets another shot when she hears that, despite the evidence against him, Tom has pleaded not guilty. She realises that she might have to relive the entire ordeal as she faces Tom in court.
Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) is shocked to hear Belle’s news, but unbeknownst to her, her daughter is busy working to try to convince Jimmy that Tom is innocent.
‘He’s good at turning people on each other for his own benefit,’ James explained.
‘He enjoys playing people and playing scenarios. He has a lack of empathy and morality and it can get you a very long way. He thinks he’s got a lot of ammunition against Belle. He wants to win and believes he still can.’
