Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley has gushed over her co-star Eden Taylor-Draper’s performance as Belle Dingle in the ITV soap
There’s joy ahead for Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) as she prepares to marry Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) in upcoming Emmerdale scenes.
However, just across the village, Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) is desperate to escape her marriage and the clutches of her abusive husband, Tom King (James Chase).
Actress Lisa Riley can’t believe the difference between the relationships and told OK! just how proud she is of her co-star.
“We’ve just had Belle and Tom’s wedding, which is very different from Paddy and Mandy’s,” says Lisa. “As a show, it’s incredible that we’ve taken a wedding with Belle and Tom that should be glorious but as it’s played out since then, it’s been horrific, and it’s only getting worse.” I’m the proudest aunt to Eden, I get emotional about it,” continued Lisa.
Lisa added: “I remember when we filmed the dinner party episode, I spoke with Eden, and those days were hard for her.
“After day two of filming the dinner party, we went back to the dressing room and I gave her a hug and said ‘do you have any idea how proud I am of you?’ She’s just incredible, I love her.”
“Eden deals with it brilliantly too, and it’s hard, long days playing that emotion. We’re all messing around on set and she has to stay quiet in the corner. I want her to win everything, and I will be her biggest cheerleader.”
The Dingles have been a focus of lots of topical storylines, from Marlon Dingle‘s (Mark Charnock) stroke to Lydia Dingle’s (Karen Blick) sexual abuse, and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) being diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The proudest part of being in Emmerdale for me is when we nail a storyline that hopefully helps people and awareness.
“For example, coercive control happens everyday in some people’s lives and I lost my own mother to breast cancer, and we saw that Chas had that storyline. We share a dressing room, us six Dingle girls, everyone calls it the ‘bonkers room’. But we can all lean on one another, we have this real bond.”
Lisa has high hopes for Mandy and Paddy, who first got married 25 years ago, and have since reunited. “When I came back to the show six years ago, it was inevitable that Mandy and Paddy would get back together.
“They are best friends and soulmates, he loves her mayhem. She can be whacky, but he just smiles at Mandy and goes ‘well, that’s my girl’.”
The pair are hoping to make it down the aisle in upcoming episodes, but when a secret is exposed, it threatens to derail the big day.
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