Tom King faces justice as he stands trial for assault and controlling or coercive behaviour in today’s episode of Emmerdale and Denise Welch joins the cast.
A nervous but determined Belle takes the stand to give evidence about what Tom has put her through.
Meanwhile, Tom is cocky and eager to take his chance to stick the knife into his wife.
Tom wants to show off to the jury (Credit: ITV)Jury service
But it’s the jury who take centre stage in the episode as they wrestle with the truth about what happened.
Former Bad Girls star John Ellis, Corrie and Casualty star Charles Dale, and Loose Women presenter and Coronation Street icon Denise Welch all star in the episode as members of the jury.
Denise Welch plays Heidi, a juror convinced of Tom’s guilt from the start, while Charles Dale takes on the role of Karl who’s definitely on Team Tom – at least to begin with.
Kenneth, played by John Ellis, is on the fence as the jury begin to consider their verdict.
Denise Welch plays Heidi – one of the members of the jury (Credit: ITV)
Denise Welch joins Emmerdale: ‘An honour to be a part of it’
Former Corrie star Denise said she enjoyed being part of such an “important” episode.
“I’ve been gripped by the Belle and Tom storyline so to play a head juror in the story’s culmination was an honour,” she added.
The special episode features stories taken from real-life instances of domestic abuse, with the help of the charity Refuge.
“My character Heidi was more emotionally involved, so I felt that maybe she had experienced some form of domestic abuse herself,” Denise said.
Will the jury believe Belle? (Credit: ITV)
Campaigning against abuse
The ITV show Loose Women launched a campaign called Facing It Together earlier this year, intending to shine a light on all sorts of abuse including coercive control. “The subject matter is one I’m passionate about,” said Denise.
And she added: “To share the jury scenes with Charlie Dale and Jack Ellis and also to see lots of my Emmerdale mates made it a job to remember.”
But will the jury reach the verdict all the Emmerdale viewers are hoping for? Only time will tell!
