Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed

Mandy Dingle Mandy Dingle (also Kirk-Dingle) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Lisa Riley. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 July 1995 and departed on 28 September 2000. She ret ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced

Jeremy Beadle Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE (12 April 1948 – 30 January 2008) was an English television presenter, radio presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years appeared i ...

as the presenter of ''

You've Been Framed! ''You've Been Framed!'' is a British television series where viewers can contribute to the programme with their humorous home movies for the entertainment of others. It is produced by ITV Studios and comedian Harry Hill has been providing narrat ...

'' between 1998 and 2002. She was also a contestant on the tenth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'', and a panellist on the ITV daytime series ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

''.

Career

Riley trained at the

Oldham Theatre Workshop The Oldham Theatre and Music Workshop is a youth theatre group based in the north west of England. Outline Founded by David Johnson in , the Oldham Theatre Workshop has a purpose-built studio located in its own building off Oldham's Union Street, ...

from the age of nine, and was signed by an agent three years later. Riley's early roles included appearances as an extra in both ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' and ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' as well as a cast member in ''Butterfly Kiss'' which was directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

. She then appeared in a guest role as

in the British soap opera ''

'' in 1995. After proving popular with the audience, Riley was invited to join the soap's regular cast the following year. In 1996, Riley won the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

for "Most Popular Newcomer" for her work in ''Emmerdale''. She continued to play Mandy until 2001 after deciding to pursue other television roles. Riley portrayed Princess Jean in the CITV Awards 1997, and also presented ''

'' between 1998 and 2002, taking over from the former presenter,

and raising viewers figures to more than 13 million at its peak in the process. Riley even appeared on ''

'' herself, in a clip one of her old school friends sent to the show, which the crew didn't tell her about beforehand. In 1999, Riley co-presented the six-part ITV series ''Birthrace 2000'' with

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...

, which featured couples trying to have the first baby of the

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

. Riley featured as Rebecca Patterson, a "shy, retiring, twenty something" woman, in the drama series ''

Fat Friends ''Fat Friends'' (also known as ''Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends'') is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in Leeds, the series explores the lives of several slimmi ...

'' across three series between 2002 and 2005. Riley portrayed Goody McEldrich in a 2011 episode of the UK children's show '

Young Dracula ''Young Dracula'' is a British children's horror drama comedy television series which aired on CBBC, loosely based on ''Young Dracula'', a 2002 children's book by Michael Lawrence. It is also based on the epistolary novel ''Dracula'', writte ...

', and during 2012, she appeared as Nadia Hicks in the second series of ITV crime drama, ''

Scott & Bailey ''Scott & Bailey'' is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The sh ...

''. Between 2011 and 2013, Riley made guest appearance as Tina Allen in the BBC school drama '' Waterloo Road''. Later that year, Riley signed up as a contestant on the tenth series of ''

'', partnering with

Robin Windsor Robin Windsor (born 15 September 1979) is a British professional Latin and Ballroom dancer, best known for his appearances in the BBC television series '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Personal life Windsor was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew u ...

. Riley juggled the rehearsals for ''Strictly Come Dancing'' with filming two appearances for ''Waterloo Road'' in February 2013. The couple were eliminated during the semi-finals, on 16 December 2012. She has since appeared on the 2013 live tour and the backstage show ''Strictly Confidential'', directed by

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best k ...

, who often praised her on the show. In September 2016, it was announced that Riley had joined the

daytime series ''

'' as one of three new panellists, following a series of guest appearances during the year. In May 2017, Riley featured in the BBC miniseries '' Three Girls'' as Lorna, the mother of one of the main characters. In August 2018, Riley starred in another BBC drama, ''

Age Before Beauty ''Age Before Beauty'' is a BBC television drama series by Debbie Horsfield that premiered on BBC One on 31 July 2018. The six-part series is based in Manchester, England, and stars Robson Green, Sue Johnston, Polly Walker and James Murray. Plo ...

'', as Tina Reegan, a gothic tattoo artist. Riley's return to ''Emmerdale'' for one storyline was announced on 13 November 2018. The character returned for a guest stint from January 2019. She later returned full-time from September 2019.

Personal life

In late 2016, Riley lost over 10 stone in weight, and a year later, she had a surgery to remove excess skin. Riley describes herself as a "dedicated vegetarian".

Filmography

Theatre

Film

Television

; Guest appearances * '' This Morning'' (2001, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2020) * ''

The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...

'' (2009) * ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'' (2009) – Guest panellist * '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' (2012, 2013, 2014) * ''

Let's Dance for Sport Relief ''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...

'' (2013) * ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

'' (2013, 2016, 2018, 2020) * '' Keep It in the Family'' (2015)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Lisa 1976 births English television presenters English soap opera actresses English television actresses English stage actresses Living people People from Bury, Greater Manchester