Emmerdale star Rebecca Sarker has called for her character Manpreet Sharma to have a role in the ongoing Tom King storyline.

The soap has explored the issue of domestic abuse with Tom and wife Belle’s story, which began last October. Tom’s controlling and violent behaviour has rapidly worsened since he married Belle in February.

Tom’s coercive control over Belle took an even darker turn earlier this week, when he injected their dog Piper with poison as a way of forcing his wife out of a mental health crisis assessment centre.

Speaking to Inside Soap, Sarker explained why she’d like Manpreet to play a part in the important storyline, saying: “Someone I’d like more scenes with is James Chase, who plays Tom.

“A while ago Charles had a go at Tom in the Woolpack and Manpreet had to smooth things over. I really enjoyed working with James. Tom is so layered as a character.”

She added: “If Manpreet were to have more interaction with him, I’m sure alarm bells would start ringing. Maybe she’d be the one to expose his treatment of Belle?”

Back when the coercive control storyline was first unveiled, Belle star Eden Taylor-Draper explained that she and co-star Chase “were fully aware of the responsibility that would bring”.

“But it is an important story to tell,” she added. “Soaps offer the viewer a glimpse of life behind closed doors and reveal what people present to the world isn’t always a truth.

“The sad reality is that behaviour like this in a relationship is all too prevalent. I hope we do this story justice. And if people are in a situation like this they should definitely get help.”