Emmerdale reassures fans again after horrific Piper twist

Justin Harp

The following article references animal abuse and coercive control.

Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale has reassured fans again following this week's horrific Piper the Dog twist.

The soap killed off Belle King's beloved pet as part of Tom King's continuing pattern of emotional and physical abuse against his estranged wife.

Tom ran down Piper in horrific scenes, before pretending to Belle that he'd found the dog already injured. Belle saw through Tom's lies and has now gone to the police.

These dark scenes have understandably upset fans, so Emmerdale has released a behind-the-scenes video showing the dog who plays Piper having a lovely time on set.

In the clip, director Jeff Naylor assures viewers that Emmerdale's animal actors are treated even better than their human counterparts.

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The filmmaker later breaks down how the dog's final scenes were filmed, while we also see Belle actor Eden Taylor-Draper playing with the pup in the soap's makeup trailer.

Before this week's disturbing scenes aired, Emmerdale confirmed it was working with two charities, Refuge and The Dogs Trust, on this storyline.

Piper's on-screen death was designed to be gut-wrenching because producer Laura Shaw wanted to reflect the lengths abusers will go to to keep control over their partners.

"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,” Shaw said.

"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."

Emmerdale issued a previous statement on its animal cast's welfare in May when Tom was shown drugging Piper to convince Belle to leave a treatment centre.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, organizations including Refuge (www.refuge.org.uk), New Beginnings Peer Support (www.newbeginningspeersupport.com) and Women's Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk) can provide further support and information. The 24-hour, freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247. The US National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text LOVEIS to 22522.

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