The ITV soap has revealed the special episode will showcase two different viewpoints of the same dinner party
New information about the ‘never been done’ dinner party episode featuring two couples—Rhona Goskirk and Marlon Dingle and Belle and Tom King—has been revealed by Emmerdale.
The continuous plot of the special episode is on Tom and Belle’s domestic violence, and it features two distinct perspectives of the same dinner party. Meanwhile, Rhona and Marlon’s relationship has been straining since the birth of baby Ivy.
Producer Laura Shaw of Emmerdale previously disclosed to the Manchester Evening News, in reference to the storyline involving coercive control between Tom and Belle: “We’ve also been looking for fresh and creative ways to tell the story, so we’re planning a special episode that will deviate from the show’s typical format and tell the story in a way that appeals to viewers.
“So it’s a dinner party, mainly focused on Belle and Tom and Marlon and Rhona and we’ll see what is happening in their relationships but through the special way we’ve done it, we’ll be able to see that what you see in public is not necessarily what you’d see behind closed doors.”
It has now been announced that on Tuesday, May 7, viewers will witness Tom (James Chase) and his spouse Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) throw a tense dinner party. The event culminates with the guests departing when Rhona (Zoe Henry), a married pair, and Marlon (Mark Charnock) get into an argument.
In order to present the events from Belle and Tom’s point of view and provide insight into Tom’s domineering attitude, the second half of the special will go back in time to the beginning of the dinner party. The first half of the special will centre on Rhona and Marlon’s viewpoints.
In the episode, Tom extends an invitation to dinner to his coworkers following an error at work. As Marlon and Rhona argue and the guests start making reasons to leave, he grows critical of Belle and asks her to alter during the dinner party. Viewers witness the truth of Belle’s existence at home with Tom when she is unable to persuade them to stay.
Eden, 26, commented on the response from the public to the Tom and Belle plot, saying: “I think it’s fantastic that people are reaching out and that everything is connecting in some way. I feel so fortunate to have been able to tell Belle’s story because so many others experience this. We’ve collaborated with nonprofit organisations and individuals who have experienced similar things, therefore it’s critical that the portrayal be accurate.”
“It’s a one-off in terms of structure and it’s a very different sort of episode where you kind of go back and forth in time during the dinner party,” Emmerdale icon Mark, 55, added in his assessment of the episode. It’s quite nicely done to combine the action that takes place off stage—between Tom and Belle in the kitchen—with what is happening on stage, which is the dinner party.
“So, we watch two wonderful hosts entertaining these various couples, and when they go back into the kitchen, we witness the depravity of their relationship. Mandy and Paddy and Vanessa and Suzy are two happy couples you may see on stage in the meanwhile. Then there are Rhona and Marlon, who seem to be breaking down entirely in front of everyone.”
Producer Laura Shaw of Emmerdale continued, saying: “The dinner party episode offers the audience a unique perspective into the lives of the people assembled and shines a bright light on their relationships.
“Stepping away from the usual Emmerdale format, it offers our viewers the chance to see how some relationships like Rhona and Marlon’s can very publicly unravel and fall apart, whereas other relationships, like Tom and Belle’s, can present in public as perfect and behind closed doors tell a very different, much darker story.”
Regarding the Tom and Belle plot, Emmerdale has been collaborating with Refuge. Refuge offers a 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline at 0808 2000 247. Additionally, live chat assistance is accessible online at www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk from Monday through Friday from 3 to 10 p.m.
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