Thomas King

This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page.

Evil-doer
Full Name	Thomas King
Alias	Thomas Tom
Origin	Emmerdale
Occupation	Veterinarian at Emmerdale Veterinary Surgery Son of Carl King Husband of Belle Dingle
Powers / Skills	Deception Charisma
Hobby	Spending quality time with Belle Dingle
Goals	Get revenge on Chas Dingle to avenge his late father Carl King (abandoned) Reconcile with Belle Dingle (succeeded)
Crimes	Spousal abuse Coercive control Harassment Stalking Assault Criminal damage Animal abuse
Type of Villain	Wrathful Trickster

“	"Do you even have an ounce of gratitude. You ungrateful, self-obsessed, bi-ch! All I ever did was love you, and this is how you're gonna repay me?!"	„
	~ Thomas King arguing with his wife Belle Dingle as she finally confronts him for abusing her throughout their relationship.

Thomas King is a fictional character and anti-hero of the long-running ITV British soap opera Emmerdale.

Originally starting out as a minor character following his small stints in 2004-2010, he reappeared on October 2012 and became an anti-hero up until his departure on April 2013. Thereafter he returned in April 2023 as a major protagonist for the rest of the year before later becoming the show's main antagonist in 2024.

He is currently portrayed by James Chase after having been previously casted by Mark Flanagan in his anti-heroic stint on the show.

History

Thomas King was born on 6th September 1996, conceived by parents Carl and Coleen King respectively. Then in January 1999, Thomas had a sister named Anya when she was born at that time.

By 2004, Thomas' parents had divorced after their marriage fell apart; Colleen has been granted custody of Thomas and Anya, but she still reluctantly allowed Carl to spend time with his children. It was then Colleen took the children to visit Carl in Emmerdale village. Upon arrival, she clashed with Carl's love interest Louise Appleton and she dumped him after learning that Carl was formerly married to Colleen and that he is the father of Thomas and Anya respectively.

Over the next few years, Thomas and his sister are taken by Colleen to visit Carl on various occasions. They spend time with the rest of Carl's family, such as his younger brother Max King; their older brothers Jimmy and Matthew respectively; the family patriarch Tom King; and his villainous daughter-in-law Sadie King. During that time, Thomas gets unwittingly acquainted with Carl's other love interest Chloe Atkinson and his stepmother Rosemary King on different occasions.

Soon enough, Thomas starts hanging out with Carl's girlfriend Chas Dingle on multiple occasions during her relationship with Carl. This happens at one point in 2010 when Thomas and Anya are rushed to hospital, before they later attend Carl's wedding with Chas; it ends in disaster, though, when Chas exacts revenge on Carl for his affair with her friend Eve Jenson.

In 2012, Thomas reappears with Anya following their father's death. He initially resents Carl for neglecting his children and after learning that he tried to rape Chas before he died, but Jimmy convinces him that his father was never a monster in the end. Thomas then starts to believe that Chas killed his father and begins a revenge campaign that involves stalking Chas, but she and Jimmy soon discover the truth and force him to apologize. Thomas continues to resent Chas until they eventually make peace with each other.

By February 2013, Thomas attempts to reform by having a relationship with Chas' relative Belle Dingle. He also clashes with Chas' boyfriend Cameron Murray, not knowing that Cameron is actually the one who killed Carl due to their conflict over Chas in the past, and is bullied by the latter when Thomas begins working for Chas and her cousin Marlon Dingle at The Woolpack public house. Thomas then clashes with Belle's other love interest Sean Spencer when he cheats on Belle with her best-friend Gemma Andrews.

However, Thomas' relationship with Belle sparks disapproval from her family - most specifically her parents Zak and Lisa due to the extent of Chas' breakdown relationship with Carl in the past. Thomas and Belle later plan on running away together, prompting her half-brother Cain Dingle to alert the family about it. But Thomas returns Belle to her parents and leaves the village on his own.

Nearly a decade later, Thomas returns to the village and seems to have fully reformed. He reconciles with Belle but has a hard time with Jimmy, especially when he learns the truth about Carl's murder and discovers that Carl had killed his late father Tom King back on Christmas Day 2006. Thomas later makes amends with Jimmy, though, and the pair get along with each other. Thomas later attempts to propose to Belle. However, when she turns him down, he reacts angrily and goes to leave until he hits Belle by accident; he apologizes and she forgives him. Later on Thomas learns that his mother Colleen has died and asks Belle to go with him to attend her funeral out of the country; Belle agrees and later accepts Thomas' marriage proposal, much to his delight.

Development

In 2024, Emmerdale has confirmed Thomas and Belle's latest storyline will explore themes of domestic abuse. There have been worrying signs about Thomas over the last several months, as the ways he's lashed out have ranged from cruel insults to physically shoving her. With the couple back from their honeymoon after a disastrous wedding night, Thomas has made a show of humiliating Belle for her latest attempt at a romantic gesture. Over the coming weeks, Thomas's controlling nature will become more evident as he begins to use technology to constantly monitor his wife's whereabouts. The show has confirmed this long-range dark storyline will cover numerous ways abusive partners can victimise their spouses, including through coercive control; physical violence; emotional mistreatment; and technology-facilitated abuse.

Quotes

“	"What you think you can kill my dad and get away with it!?"	„
	~ Thomas' angry outburst to Chas Dingle after she discovers that he has been stalking her out of revenge for the death of his late father Carl King himself.

“	"Right, this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you. Actually.... maybe not."	„
	~ Thomas prepares to harm Belle's beloved pet dog Piper just to further subjugate her under his coercive control.

Trivia

• The character Thomas King was played by four different actors.
  • Jack Ferguson from to 2004-2007.
  • Connor Hill from 2009 to 2010.
  • Mark Flanagan from 2012 to 2013.
  • James Chase from 2023 to 2024 onwards.