Spring into ACTION!

Emmerdale's EDEN TAYLOR-DRAPER and Coronation Street's LUCY FALLON lead our preview of soapland's biggest storylines...

- ALISON SLADE

EMMERDALE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

The Dingles think Belle has won the lottery by becoming Mrs Tom King. But behind closed doors, Belle's life is far from perfect. We've seen glimpses of her husband's controlling behaviour, and things are only going to get worse, especially when she lands herself a new job at Take a Vow.

'Tom always has a reason for his behaviour,' explains Eden Taylor-Draper, 26, who plays Belle. 'He'll do something horrific and instantly turn it on her. So then Belle's like, "I'm so sorry, it's my fault." She feels like she is a burden to him, and she has long suffered with mentalhealth issues, so that is a way he can make her feel extra vulnerable.'

Sick and insecure Tom even starts to secretly monitor his wife's movements.

'The charities we've worked with have said that tech control is massively on the rise,' says Eden. 'Tom starts by putting a tracking device on Belle's phone, but there are other ways he watches her.'

This all ramps up at a time when many of Belle's relatives have their own struggles. Aware that they view her as a 'success story', she doesn't want to let them down.

'Her family are constantly saying, "Tom's such a good guy," so she thinks, "I can make this work," says Eden. 'I don't know what it would take for her to realise she needs to get out.'

On Belle's wedding day, big brother Cain joked that if Tom didn't treat her right, he'd have him to answer to. Perhaps that's a promise the mechanic will find himself having to honour.

'You mess with one Dingle, you mess with all of them,' says Eden. 'If and when they find out the truth, the Dingles will be raging.'

CORONATION STREET A BIG DISCOVERY