ZONE: 'YOU CAN'T JUST SWITCH LOVE OFF'

Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley on Mandy and Paddy’s future, doing drunk scenes and not wanting a wedding herself

- STEVEN MURPHY, ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES

With Emmerdale’s Paddy feeling down in the wake of his split from cheating wife Chas, Mandy steps in to cheer up her ex-husband. But as the wine flows, will one thing lead to another?

Lisa Riley, 46, who plays Mandy Dingle, describes the emotional scenes and reveals her plans for the future with her real-life fiancé Al…

Hi, Lisa! Mandy realises that Paddy [Dominic Brunt] is struggling – how does he react when she offers help?

Well, Mandy being Mandy, her way to help people can be to overcompensate. When she first approaches him, Paddy winds up the car window on her! But over the course of a few days, she has noted how he’s behaving and wants him to know that she has two sturdy shoulders he can cry on. 

And they end up having a heart-to-heart? 

She sees him breaking down on the  are reminiscing and Mandy starts reflecting on Paul [Reece Dinsdale] and how he treated her, while Paddy talks about Chas [Lucy Pargeter]. There’s a beautiful line, “Love is not a switch on the wall,” which is so true, you can’t just switch it off.

When does the mood change? 

They lock eyes when they have a joke but manage to brush that off. But soon the cups of tea become glasses of wine. They start getting nostalgic, their song comes on, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, and it feels like a sign…

You gave up alcohol several years ago. Is it strange doing drunk scenes? 

I do remember those days, definitely, so I can still act drunk! We use grape juice for red wine and it’s horrendous. It also gives you a breath of death – not good for snogging scenes!