KAREN BLICK
Emmerdale’s Lydia Hart ...faces your questions!
Loveable Lydia is right at home at the heart of the madcap Dingle family, but is
Karen Blick willing to lift the lid on life as soap’s number-one stuffed-parrot-lover?
“Would you say that you’re anything like Lydia in real life?”
I think I’m more similar to Lydia in real life than I’d be happy to admit to myself! I denied it for a long time, and then my husband said, “You can be so like Lydia!” I’m keen on things being tidy, and I am quite an avid cleaner, so there are some similarities there. I’m not as
blunt as Lydia is – I’d prefer to think I have a bit more of a filter, and I can be less socially awkward.
“We are all rooting for Lydia and Sam to get their dream wedding. What sort of ceremony do you think they should have?”
A big Dingle wedding! She’ll have to drink from the Dingle welly – although Lydia will disinfect it beforehand. Doing that isn’t something you relish, but the symbolism of it is something that’d mean a lot to Lydia. I know how they film that, so I don’t feel too bad about doing it – you have to drink out of it, though they put a liner in there!
“Do you own birds in real life, and are you interested in taxidermy?”
I can say, hand on heart, that I don’t own any birds outside of Emmerdale – and I’ve never been interested in taxidermy! I’m more keen on live animals, if I’m honest. I like the ones that are still alive! I love Steve the parrot, though. People have – pardon the pun – really taken him under their wing. Whenever I am out and about, people ask if Steve is with me. The real Steve the parrot bit Dominic Brunt [who plays Paddy], when we were filming. They had to re-film it because there was an expletive from Dom!
“How much would someone have to pay you to tackle a deep clean of the Dingle homestead?”
I reckon that Lydia would do it for free – but I definitely wouldn’t fancy it. They could pay me a lot of money, and then I’d hire a company to do it properly. I tend to do ‘It’ll do’ cleaning, whereas Lydia has high standards.
“What sort of wedding should Sam and Lydia have?”
“Where is your favourite place to film on the set?” Emmerdale
Outside in the village, on Main Street, when the sun is shining, it’s glorious. The village is beautiful, and on a day when the sun is out, and everyone is outside, morale tends to be really high. Those are moments when I kind of take it in a little bit and think, ‘Wow!’ As a Yorkshire woman, it makes me really proud to be playing the part and to be in Emmerdale. The village is so iconic, and the attention to detail is great – I really love it.
“What did you get up to on your last day off work?”
Sadly, I think it was cleaning the house! I watched a film and had a takeaway – just normal everyday things. I enjoy running, so I do that when I can. I did the London Marathon earlier this year, so I always attempt to sneak in a run on my days off. I usually run on the moors, or by the river. I never thought I’d be a runner, but I trained for a half-marathon four years ago, and built up from a quarter of a mile to 26.2 miles, which is incredible. I like running because then I can eat more cake!
“If you won the lottery, what sort of thing would you do with the money?”
I’d have a really gorgeous holiday with sandy beaches and blue seas. I’d give lots of it away to help my family and friends, and I’d buy a big house with a swimming pool.
I’d love to go to the Dominican Republic – I went to Hawaii a few years ago, and I’d love to visit there again, as it was amazing. The sand was just how you see it in picture postcards, it was a gorgeous colour.
“If Lydia could be best friends with anyone in the village, who would you like her to chum up with?”
She has quite a nice friendship with Bernice, and Sam Giles [who plays her] and I have had some lovely scenes together. They are two quite quirky, comedic characters. I also really enjoy working with Emma Atkins, who plays Charity. She’s a great comedic actress.
“Do you think that Lydia has what it takes to be the new Dingle matriarch while Lisa’s away?”
I think she does. Lydia’s a lot stronger than she may come across at first. She’s been through a lot in her life, including losing her husband, and his affair.
She admires the strength of the other Dingle women, and we’ll see that she also has that ability to stay strong in a crisis – and bend the law if things aren’t as they should be! She’s always on the side of right, morally, but that doesn’t mean legally. That’s a Dingle trait.
“Where is your favourite place to film on the set of Emmerdale?”