In last night’s episode of Emmerdale, Tom finally got the comeuppance

he deserved; prison. But his sentence length left fans quite upset.

For months Tom has been abusing Belle in harrowing scenes, and it finally came to an end yesterday.

In another unique episode, Emmerdale once again changed their format to showcase different points of views. Instead of the typical trial episodes, we got to see both Belle and Tom tell their own version of events, with conversations between the jury mixed in between.

And while fans were happy that we finally got to see the end of Tom, many were upset at the harsh reality of his sentence.

Emmerdale Tom found guilty

Tom got sentenced to three years in prison. And after watching the abuse he put Belle through for a year, that doesn’t feel like a lot of time.

But Emmerdale stayed true to real life, and that is sadly the reality of a lot of domestic violence cases.

James Chase, who played the villain, spoke about his thoughts on Tom’s sentencing.

He said: “With good behaviour, he’s only going to get something like 16 to 18 months. Which is just crazy.”

This opens the question on just how much Tom will change in prison, especially if his time inside is so short.

James explained: “There are many different avenues. They could make it that Tom potentially had got even worse and hasn’t changed at all. Perhaps he will hate Belle even more for it. Or if he did go the other way and finally realise the terrible things he has done, and actually start to try to become a better man.”

Viewers shocked at Tom’s sentencing

Fans shared their outrage at Tom’s sentencing on social media.

One user commented on a Reddit thread: “I liked the episode but the sentence was poor.”

This sparked a comment by another user who responded: “It unfortunately illustrates how little men like Tom actually get. Sentencing around domestic abuse needs to be reformed.”

A third user penned: “Three years is way too short. But if they were going for reality, then this is it.”

Viewers on X (formerly Twitter) also shared the same view.

One wrote: “Three years is an absolute joke after what Belle went through. He should have gotten way longer.”

The sentence is Emmerdale’s way of ensuring they stay true to the storyline. And despite the annoyance, fans are all glad to see Tom go down.