Lisa Riley says she went back to filming Emmerdale too soon after loss of fiancé’s mum
After experiencing the loss of her fiancé Al’s mother to cancer, Lisa Riley of Emmerdale has spoken about how she returned to filming the ITV series too soon.
The soap star, who has played Mandy Dingle since 1995, said that the tragedy reminded her of her own mother Cathy’s 2012 passing.
Al’s mother, who Lisa referred to as “Nana,” passed away at the age of 79. The 46-year-old Emmerdale actor has acknowledged that returning to work before the funeral was the wrong decision.
It has been a dangerous moment, and the family is still extremely emotional about it, she said. In retrospect, I should have taken my time returning to work after Nana passed away.
“I had to really push myself to shoot the scenes because what I truly wanted to do was continue regardless. I now understand that doing it before the funeral was a mistake.”
Lisa also said “I’ve previously been outspoken about how my parents’ mothers both passed away at a young age and how I always referred to Al’s mother as Nana.
“It’s been awful since she sadly lost her battle with cancer. Seeing someone in palliative care at the end of their life is the worst, in my opinion.
“It reminded me of my own mother and brought back all those memories. We were all quite close, and Al’s mother was to me like a second mother.”
But Lisa revealed how the Emmerdale cast and crew, which will mark its 50th anniversary in October, helped her.
She recently discussed her coworkers: “But it keeps bringing home to me how amazing each and every one of them is. They have been just fantastic.”
The soap actress continued, “I can’t even express how much their love and support have meant to me. When they mentioned me at the Soap Awards, I was very touched.
Since they started dating in 2014, Lisa and Al have become closer as a result of losing Nana, according to Lisa. In an interview with Woman’s Weekly, she continued: “Tragic events do bring people together. I’m so happy we found each other.”
