Emmerdale character Tom King (James Chase) might

have appeared to be a changed man when he returned

to the ITV soap – both in personality and in the actor playing

him – but recent scenes have confirmed he is an evil, manipulative abuser.

At the start, his relationship with Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) appeared to be going well, but things took a seriously dark turn when Tom snapped at Belle over not wanting to get married, which resulted in him pushing Belle into a table.

Now that they’re married, Tom’s abusive behaviour has continued.

The character first returned to the Dales last year after leaving in 2013, after making it his mission to make Chas Dingle’s (Lucy Pargeter) life a living hell following the death of his father.

Tom King (also known as Thomas) is the son of Carl King (Tom Lister) who was dramatically murdered in a live episode of the soap in October 2012.

The character believed Carl’s former fiancee Chas to be responsible for the killing and set out for revenge with a campaign of stalking against her.

However, it later transpired that it was Carl’s love rival Cameron Murray – who had been having an affair with Chas – and was responsible for the killing.

He proceeded to make her life a misery, sending her disturbing photos of her and Carl with her eyes cut out, making anonymous phone calls to the pub, and injuring her when he threw a glass bottle at her outside the Woolpack.

He was eventually caught after trying to scrawl graffiti on the wall of the pub’s living room.