DINGLE all the way!

As she celebrates 20 years in the soap, LUCY PARGETER tells us why she's still having a ball playing Chas...

- ALISON SLADE

EMMERDALE 

MONDAY-FRIDAY, 7.30PM, ITV SOAP

Just when we thought Chas Dingle had found her Mr Right, she ends up in the arms of Mr Oh So Wrong. In the wake of mum Faith's terminal cancer diagnosis, The Woolpack manager has been cheating on husband Paddy with former nemesis Al Chapman.

Here, in an exclusive interview with TV Times, star Lucy Pargeter, 45, discusses Chas' destructive move and a milestone year for both Emmerdale and her character...

In the wake of mum Faith's terminal How is Chas coping with Faith's illness?

Well, that's where the Al thing comes from. Initially, she couldn't cope with the fact that Faith was so desperate to regain a relationship with Cain when he clearly hated her.

Also, she's got Paddy, who is the most brilliant, supportive partner, but if anyone's there for Chas too much, she tends to go in the opposite direction.

Al was the most unlikely person to reach out, but he said, 'You can talk to me, I've just gone through this with my dad.' Their relationship in the past has been terrible because of what happened with the pub, but a weird connection was made.

Does being with Al numb her pain?

I can't justify what she's doing in any way. I can only explain it by saying that instead of going to the gym or going for a run, she's going to Al. There are no feelings, no love, no particular affection. It's a momentary endorphin release. She is using him. I think as time goes on, we'll start to see that Al maybe thinks more of it than she is very clearly stating.

How does Paddy fit into all this? Does she still love him?