ITV Emmerdale hit with barrage of Ofcom complaints over grim dog death as soap ‘goes too far’
Emmerdale has been hit with Ofcom complaints following on from the shocking scenes which saw Tom King use pet pooch Piper to control his wife Belle Dingle in heartbreaking scenes
Emmerdale has been flooded with Ofcom complaints after Piper was killed by evil Tom King.
Fans of the ITV soap were left fuming over the recent scenes, which saw Tom King (James Chase) run over Belle Dingle’s pet dog Piper in a bid to exert control over his estranged wife. Viewers took to social media to fume over the scenes and many have said they have switched the soap off, or stopped watching all together, over the big scenes.
Emmerdale received 183 complaints for their episode on August 16th, which featured scenes where Tom ran Piper over in a bid to reconnect with Belle. Elsewhere, the soap received another 99 complaints for its episode on Monday August 19th where Tom told Belle that the dog had been hit. He later hinted he was responsible for the death.
Speaking about the scenes, James said: “Tom is well aware of the control he can exert by using his dog in his abuse of Belle. This deliberate act, although horrifying, is Tom’s way of getting back in Belle’s life. He knows her reaction to Piper being injured will mean he can then be the one to comfort her and get close to her again. It’s a desperate act, but Tom is clutching at anything at this time.
Tom has been controlling Belle by targeting her dog
Emme rdale Producer Laura Shaw added of the storyline: “Working with the charities and hearing first hand stories from domestic abuse survivors it’s clearly all too common that domestic abusers will use the family pet as a weapon. In upcoming scenes Viewers will see Tom go to desperate measures to try and keep control of his imploding marriage to Belle, which puts Piper in great jeopardy. Could this terrible act be the motivation that finally urges Belle to report her husband as an abuser?”
Just yesterday, Belle turned to the police to try and help her. In chilling scenes, he seemed to hint at her that he was responsible He told her: “Although, maybe she recognised the driver! I guess we’ll never know,” as Belle added: “Did you ever love her? Or was she a weapon?” but Tom just shrugged his shoulders and walked away, leaving her horrified.
Belle tried to get help under Clare’s Law, which is also known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. The law allows a person a right to known if their current or ex-partner has any previous history of violence or abuse.
