HUSBAND AND STRIFE?

Can Emmerdale’s Vinny and Liv dodge a Dingle drama by eloping? We ask the actors who play them...

Lovebirds Vinny and Liv elope in Emmerdale this week – but when Mandy tracks them down, will they still go ahead and get married? Running away has deprived the Dingles of the traditional big bash and the ritual of drinking beer from the famous family welly. And that’s exactly why they’ve decided on a quiet wedding, according to the actors who play the young couple.

‘Having Mandy Dingle as a mother is the reason Vinny’s decided against a big wedding,’ laughs Bradley Johnson. ‘Mandy takes over and it’s always a drama. Vinny and Liv want it to be special and not ruined by his mum.’

Isobel Steele adds, ‘People have a lot of opinions on Liv and Vinny as a couple because of what they’ve been through — and the Dingles are never afraid to voice them. They think it feels right to go off on their own to marry — it will just be less drama.’

Vinny and Liv, a recovering alcoholic, got engaged by accident last week, when he took her for a romantic Valentine’s Day picnic, pulled out a jewellery box with a pair of earrings in... and she got the wrong end of the stick!

But, says Bradley, it helped them focus on what they wanted, and that was to be man and wife. ‘They’ve been through so many ordeals together, are very close and love each other very much. They are ready to make that commitment to each other.’

Isobel agrees: ‘They’ve had so many chances to split up for good when things have gone wrong, and the fact they haven’t means they’re dedicated to one another.’

The pair slip away and go to Daventry where Vinny has a friend of a friend who’s a registrar. When Mandy finds out what they’re up to she bombards Vinny with messages just as they’re about to tie the knot. Bradley and Isobel aren’t saying if this ceremony takes place, but they admit to having mixed feelings when they read the scripts.

‘I had wanted a big Dingle wedding, to get the welly out and have a party,’ says Bradley, 23. ‘But this is romantic for them to go off on their own and do it.’

Isobel, 21, adds: ‘I’d have liked that, too, but the romance can get lost with a big day when it’s hectic with 30 people on set, and ten other storylines going on at the same time.’ But she’s ready for the welly when they return. ‘It will be a Dingle initiation for me.’