Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale‘s Eden Taylor-Draper has spoken about the slow approach to Belle Dingle and Tom King’s dark storyline.

The married pair are currently in the midst of a coercive control plot; made even more complicated by victim Belle’s pregnancy.

Asked whether she’d been privy to the soap’s consultations with charities, Belle star Eden revealed: “James [Chase] and I had a meeting with our researchers and producers and then representatives from the charities.

“It was eye-opening and it gave me reassurance why we are doing this story; how important it is to portray this over such a long timespan. This sort of behaviour is often slow-building and we are all so passionate about portraying it correctly.”

The actor also said it was “a huge honour” to be involved in a storyline such as this, while also commending its “realistic” unwinding in terms of timeline.

On if Belle’s family will soon work out what’s truly going on, Eden went on to share: “Slowly she is cutting her family off as she is being pushed by Tom to keep the Dingles out of their life. So they are now not close enough to actually see what is going on in Belle’s life.

“Little signs are starting to come out. But nothing tangible, or enough for them to really seize upon… He’s a clever manipulator.”

Next up for Belle and Tom is a house fire scare after Belle leaves some food cooking on the hob and falls asleep on the sofa.

Unbeknownst to her, a kitchen tea towel catches alight while she’s dozing. Will Tom come home just in time?