Lisa: I went back to work too soon after family loss
Soap star’s grief at losing fiance’s mum
LISA Riley has told how she went back to filming Emmerdale too soon after the grief of losing her fiance Al’s mother to cancer.
And the soap star, who plays Mandy Dingle, said the tragedy brought back tough memories of her own mum Cathy’s death in 2012.
Al’s mum, known affectionately as “Nana” to Lisa, died aged 79.
The 46-year-old went back to work before the funeral and admitted it was the wrong thing to do.
She said: “It has been a treacherous time and it’s still very raw in the family.
“In hindsight, when Nana passed I shouldn’t have gone back to work so quickly. But what I wanted to do was carry on regardless, and I had to really dig deep to shoot the scenes.
“I now realise it was the wrong thing to do before the funeral.
“I have spoken openly before about how my parents’ mums both died young and how I always called Al’s mum, Nana. She sadly lost her battle with cancer and it’s been horrible. The worst thing for me is when you see someone at the end in palliative care.
“It was identical to my own mum and it brought all those memories back.
“Al’s mum was like a second mum to me and we were all incredibly close.”
But Lisa told how the cast and crew of Emmerdale, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in October, supported her.
She said: “What it does continue to make me realise, though, is just how incredible they all are.
“They have been beyond amazing. I can’t even put into words how much their love and support has meant to me, and when they mentioned me at the Soap Awards, I was so touched.”
Lisa and Al have been together since 2014 and she revealed losing Nana had made them even closer. Speaking to Woman’s Weekly magazine, she added: “Tragedy does pull people together. I am so glad we’ve got each other.”