Emmerdale star signs new contract to keep her on the soap for ‘a long time’ amid heartbreaking storyline
EMMERDALE star Lisa Riley has signed a new contract to keep her on the soap for ‘a long time’ amid her heartbreaking storyline.
Lisa, 48, who plays Mandy Dingle on the ITV favourite, confirmed her future on the show, five years after returning to the cast.
The actress told Woman’s Weekly magazine “I’ve just signed a new long contract and I’m very happy.
“Paddy and Mandy bring such joy to the show – you can rely on the fact that they’re going to bring you that sprinkle of fun and I love that.
“It’s 25 years since they married the first time and I’d like to think that I’ll still be in the show in another 25 years – I absolutely love it.”
In Emmerdale‘s latest storyline, Mandy’s turned to sex work as a “financial dominatrix” after being left penniless.
But it’s appeared to spell issues for her upcoming wedding to Paddy Kirk, played by Dominic Brunt.
They first got hitched in 1999 — after Mandy had briefly been wed to Butch — but split a year later when she had an affair.
Paddy went on to marry Emily Dingle, then Rhona Goskirk and Chas Dingle.
Mandy also nearly got married again — in a leopard-print dress — to her former boyfriend, Paul Ashdale, but that ended in tears after she found out he had been abusing his son, Vinny.
Mandy has raised Vinny as her own since he was a baby.
Yet after falling in love for a second time with Paddy, fans will be left on tenterhooks wondering whether the couple will make it to the altar.
Paddy is furious to discover Mandy has been running a “fin-dom” business, where she is sent cash in return for being domineering during phone calls.
A desperate Mandy tries to reassure him after Paddy thinks she is offering callers sleazy sex chats.
In a recent interview with The Sun, Lisa explained: “Mandy has started doing financial domination as a side hustle. It’s her being a bossy cow and being paid lots of money.
“There is nothing seedy in it and it’s very popular nowadays. She is a Dingle and Dingle women stand on their own two feet.
“She has maxed out on her credit cards and she is in survival mode.
“But when she gets found out, she tries to tell Paddy it’s not what he thinks. She wants to pay for a nice surprise for their wedding.”
That wedding, she added, will go down to the “will they, won’t they?” wire. She teased: “Mandy is all dressed up and ready to go in a magical princess dress.
“There is no leopard print this time around. But Paddy is very upset about the revelation and there is a lot of running around. I don’t want to spoil it by revealing if they get to the altar or not. . . ”
The actress said she and Dominic have been inundated with messages from viewers begging for Mandy and Paddy to marry.
“Everywhere we go, people tell us they want Mandy and Paddy to get married,” said Lisa. “They are soulmates.”
As well as playing Mandy’s true love, Lisa said Dominic is also a brilliant friend off screen.
‘Many years of trust’
“We have so many years of trust,” she explained. “I know he will take my secrets to the grave and I will take his. He is such a great friend.”
The soap’s millions of fans will be relieved to hear Lisa loves playing Mandy as much now as she did when she took on the role nearly 30 years ago, in 1995.
She quit the soap in 2001 to pursue other projects, including hosting You’ve Been Framed, then returned in 2019.
A true pro, she has grown used to the fame that comes with playing loudmouth Mandy, but has been alarmed by people who have tried to con fans pretending to be her on social media.
“People pre- tending to be you is horrid,” said Lisa. “The worst is when they ask for money.
“One was charging for autograph cards. I want to stress, we don’t charge if you write to the studio. We are always happy to send out autographs if people ask.
“Goodness only knows what would happen if you put your bank details in thinking you are going to get a signed card. There’s so much criminality now.”
She also stressed she won’t be quitting Emmerdale any time soon — news that will be welcomed by the soap’s millions of fans.
“I’d love to stay,” she admitted. “But you are only as good as your last episode. It only takes a producer to go, ‘I don’t see Paddy and Mandy’ and they are killed off.
“But I am so lucky to be in such a great soap. The hours are long so I can often be more Mandy Dingle than me, but it’s a ball playing her.”