“If anyone can spot the signs of abuse, it’s the charity,” says Dales star Emma Atkins

“Waitch Emmerdale I used to shout at Tom a lot at home!” reveals actress Emma Atkins as we join her on Zoom to talk about Charity’s involvement in the Belle and Tom storyline. “It’s hard to watch sometimes. Terrifying. Even my mom gets mad at Tom – who isn’t?”

Even though we, the audience, are desperate to get back at the evil Tom, his horrific abuse is a well-kept secret in the village. Charity and Dingles have not batted an eyelid at Belle’s personality change or how isolated she has become. Until now.

This week, Charity is concerned about what’s going on behind closed doors and forces her nervous cousin to open up. But when Tom learns of her interference, he takes drastic measures to keep Belle away from her supportive family for good!

As we learn what steps a worried Charity will take to encourage Belle to talk, Emma explains why she loves playing the role of a protective older sister and confesses that she wouldn’t want to be in her character’s shoes in real life…

Hi Emma! Were you excited to hear that the charity would play a bigger role in Belle’s story?

Yes, because I felt that if anyone was going to recognize the signs of abuse, it would probably be a charity. She lived and breathed it in her past. Charity begins to notice changes in Bella’s behavior – she seems more withdrawn, doesn’t really want to hang out with her friends or family, and is often at home with Tom. And whenever he is on the street, he is always with Tom!

So what is Charity’s plan to help?

At first he knows he has to play this subtle, delicate teasing game little things from Belle. Then she decides to plan a girls’ night out. He goes to Chas and Lydia and says, “I feel like something’s wrong and I want to get to the bottom of it.” No one seems to see this except Charity.

So what happens next?

He plans it with the girls to take Belle from Dale Head straight to the Woolpack’s back room. This is the beginning of a fantastic episode in which Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle) is amazing. You can tell Belle is about to open up, but then Tom calls her. Charity follows her outside and can’t understand why Tom is bothering her when he’s just around the corner. So she’s onto him. The audience will be delighted that someone finally decided to do it!

• Read the full interview with Emma on Inside Soap – available now!

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