'I'M PROTECTIVE OVER LYDIA'

As her relationship with ex Craig takes a sinister turn, Emmerdale's Lydia Dingle is left reeling. Here, actress Karen Blick tells us more

- ALICE PENWILL

Her character is usually the life and soul of the Dingle household, but actress Karen Blick reveals she’s had to tap into darker emotions for Lydia’s upcoming storyline.

The 48-year-old plays Lydia Dingle, who arrived in the village as a bereavement counsellor. She later returned with her depressed cockatoo, Steve, named after her dead husband. Before long, Lydia became enmeshed in village life when she began dating Sam Dingle, eventually becoming his wife.

Although she’s still married to Sam, recently Lydia reconnected with her teenage boyfriend, Craig [Ben Addis] – the father of her son Toby, who was stillborn. Now a successful businessman, Craig ends up offering Lydia a job at his company. But the story will take a dark turn when he sexually assaults Lydia.

“I’ve played Lydia for seven years, and she’s become part of me, so I feel very protective of her,” says Karen. “She’s like a really good friend, and if somebody was telling me this is going to happen to a really good friend, I would have an emotional reaction.

“James [Hooton, who plays Sam] had no idea – he kept saying, ‘I know where this is going,’ and then when Jane [Hudson, the soap’s executive producer] said, ‘Then Craig rapes Lydia,’ it was shocking. Both of us had tears in our eyes.”