Mandy Dingle is set to be the VIP guest at her son’s wedding party in Emmerdale this week.
But unlike the drama that has surrounded Vinny and Liv’s secret marriage, actress Lisa Riley wants her own special day to be fuss-free.
The soap star, 45, who is engaged to her partner Al, dreams of having a low-key ceremony abroad.
Lisa, 45, said: “Even though I have been brought up Catholic and my family would want that big traditional wedding, I want very simple and unique.
“Something where you just go away, do it, say your vows. Paint your own picture, your own fairy tale… that’s what I want to do.” Lisa and US musician Al have been together since 2014 but she rarely shares pictures of her beau and has never revealed his surname.
The pair, who live in Leeds, got engaged in 2018 and already call each other husband and wife, despite having yet to set a date for their wedding.
In 2020, Lisa said: “I wouldn’t rule out us getting married next year at all.”
But she admitted recently that whenever she weds, the day will be tinged with sadness because her beloved mum Cath will not be there. She died of cancer in 2012, aged 58.
Mandy – Lisa’s brash but big-hearted character – has been married and divorced twice in the soap.
She once walked down the aisle in a flamboyant leopard print dress and pink veil but Lisa plans to wear something more subtle at her own wedding. She said: “There’s has never been any item [of hers] I would dream of wearing.
“I want something very simple and super feminine – not girly, but structured. Something in a caramel cream.”
Viewers will be treated to a classic wedding drama this week when Mandy plans an over-the-top engagement party for her adopted son Vinny and his partner Liv. But Mandy is left heartbroken when she learns the pair have eloped and married in secret.
While the soap veteran wants her own nuptials to be as relaxed as possible, Lisa thrives on the drama that surrounds a Dingle wedding in the Dales.
She said: “Whatever bash the Dingles have, whether that’s a christening, a wedding or a birthday, there has to be a hiccup or it wouldn’t be the Dingles. It can’t be plain sailing.”
