Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley has revealed the heartbreaking reason why she won't marry her beloved fiancé.
The 46-year-old, who plays Mandy Dingle in the ITV soap, has been engaged to American musician Al for four years but said she won't be tying the knot. Both tragically lost their mothers and their deaths are one of the reasons why the pair won't get married.
Instead, Lisa and Al are planning to just keep things as they are. “We don’t want to change anything,” she told the Mirror.
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“Both of us talk about it all the time and feel as long as we’re happy we don’t need rings on our fingers. We’ve lost both our mums. And when it comes to things like weddings, you do it for the other people.”
Lisa said: “I’m never going to change my name, so really, what would be different? And I wouldn’t be able to wear a wedding band very much because I’ve always got Mandy’s jewellery on.
“Plus, I’ve always said I’m not the kind of girl who wants a big flouncy day with a horse and carriage." Earlier this year, Al's mum, known affectionately to Lisa as "Nana", died of cancer aged 79. And just last month, Lisa marked the 10th anniversary of losing her mum Cath to breast cancer.
This makes Mandy Dingle's current storyline on Emmerdale all the more poignant. Mandy is trying to come to terms with her aunt Faith's terminal breast cancer diagnosis which will see the Emmerdale favourite, played by Sally Dexter, going into palliative care as the story comes to a climax during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Lisa said: "Emmerdale have been working with the charity I’m an ambassador for, Breast Cancer Now, they’re helping with advice for Sally as well. There’s a storyline going on soon, where I think my fellow cast members saw me go a bit insular.
"I can’t give much away, but I thought Sally nailed exactly what happens in palliative care, and I’ve seen that for real. We are doing what Faith is going through complete justice. I can’t shout from the rooftop enough how important it is for women to check, so this could end up saving people’s lives.”
The actress previously admitted she returned to the set too soon after Nana died. She stressed it was her own choice to start working again but realised she needed more time off.
"Work were phenomenal," she said. "They gave me so much leave and couldn’t have been more incredible in how they dealt with me.
“They knew that I went through personal trauma seeing somebody I loved like a mother going through a hell of a lot with her treatment. Being me, I came back to work four days between her passing and the funeral, and I shouldn’t have. I would go to do a take and everybody could see I’d been crying."
She added: "Playing Mandy is so full on, I can’t be upset doing it. So after the funeral the executives gave me the time off.
"It wasn’t just a case of what I’m going through but I had to be there for Al as well, as he needed my support."
Not much is known about Lisa's 52-year-old partner who she has kept out of the limelight since they first met through mutual friends in 2014. It was four years before they were pictured together and even now, she has kept her American fiancé's full name a secret.
But behind the scenes, she and Al have the type of happy relationship, Mandy Dingle would crave. She first appeared on screen as Mandy in 1995 but left the village six years later after unsuccessfully trying to win back former husband Paddy (Dominic Brunt).
A firm favourite with fans, viewers were ecstatic when she returned in 2019 but the promised fireworks for the soap’s upcoming 50th anniversary has left them fearing which of the cast may be axed. Show execs have teased a deadly storm that will rip through the village, a possible murder on the cards, and a major character potentially facing life in jail.
But Mandy fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Lisa is here to stay. "One of the main reasons why I came back to Emmerdale was because career-wise, I’ve done everything I’ve needed to do,” she said.
“I will be here for a while. The only thing I haven’t done is a period drama, but I’m sure the writers will have Mandy in a corset one of these days."
She added: "Wouldn’t Dingleton be a fabulous place to live! You can’t be bored playing Mandy, and that’s a fact.
“We’ve just started filming for the anniversary and it’s very exciting. I can’t give much away, but my script has teardrops all over it, which tells you all you need to know."
The month-long special episodes will also see the return of much-loved character Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) after he left last December. “It’s going to be brilliant,” said Lisa.
"It’s Aaron, Mandy and Paddy all together and they’re going to be very integral to two big storylines."
During her Emmerdale break Lisa went on to have a lead role in the Kay Mellor-penned Fat Friends, starred in the BAFTA award-winning BBC One drama Three Girls and came fifth in the 2012 series of Strictly. Her close pal Kym Marsh has just been confirmed to feature on the BBC dance contest later this year and Lisa has been passing on the tips for success her mum gave her.
“I did Strictly shortly after Mum passed away, but she gave me the best advice ever which was, ‘Darling, just be you’. I said to Kym she has to just be herself. I’m crossing everything that she gets Giovanni Pernice as a partner, because I know and know they’d get on like a house on fire.”
This month Lisa also celebrated being seven years sober. “I’m like Cinderella these days – always home before midnight,” she said.
“But I’m really proud of that. It’s the life I want to lead because I like this me, it’s so much better than the other me.
“One thing I do know for sure is that there’s no chance I could play Mandy hungover. I have to be top notch."
You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars. There you'll also find our Emmerdale features and further news about the show's 50th anniversary plans.
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