Lydia's mum Emmerdale
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Emmerdale fans recognise actress who plays Lydia’s mum

Lydia and mum Agatha are estranged

Lydia Hart’s estranged family were introduced last night, and some Emmerdale viewers thought her mum looked very familiar.

On Thursday night (November 7), Lydia finally discovered the identity of the mysterious benefactor who left her a substantial amount of money.

Lydia tracked down her real family with Sam and Mandy’s help (Credit: ITV)

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After Mandy Dingle’s heinous attempts to claim Lydia’s cash for herself, she redeemed herself when she broke into the solicitor’s office to discover who had left Lydia the £10,000.

And it turned out it was Lydia’s estranged mum Agatha Finn, who had been trying to track her down.

After digging out a nearby address, Lydia and her unlikely troop of investigators arrived at the house, only to encounter Lydia’s ‘sister’.

Is Beth really Lydia’s sister? (Credit: ITV)

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The door was answered by a woman named Beth who delivered the news that Lydia’s mum had actually died.

She said: “Thing is, I’m sorry to have to tell you this. You’re too late. Mum died three weeks ago… It came as a shock to us all.”

Lovely to see Janet’s mum off of Scott and Bailey as Lydia’s mum. Those Northern actors really make the rounds.

She then made it clear she had no interest in getting to know her long-lost sister.

It was an emotional day for Lydia (Credit: ITV)

However, in a shock twist, Agatha was revealed to be alive after all.

“What was all that commotion at the door?” Agatha asked her daughter.

“Just someone wanting to sell raffle tickets,” she replied. “Mum, trust me, there was nothing worth winning.”

Fans were quick to recognise the actress playing Agatha, with one tweeting: “Great casting!! And lovely to see Janet’s mum off of Scott and Bailey as Lydia’s mum. Those Northern actors really make the rounds.”

https://twitter.com/the_girl_twenty/status/1192541183127556096

Another said: “She was in Waterloo Road and the mum in Scott and Bailey.”

In fact, Agatha is played by actress Judith Barker, who previously played Ken Barlow’s second wife Janet Reid in Coronation Street.

She also starred as DC Janet Scott’s mum in Scott and Bailey, Audrey Manners in Brookside and Estelle Cooper in the first series of Waterloo Road.

The Oldham-born actress, 76, even starred in Hollyoaks as Lillian Hunter, and has been a jobbing actress for more than 50 years.

Judith Barker joined the cast as Lydia Hart’s mum, (Credit: ITV)

Those watching from home were livid that Lydia’s so-called sister had lied to her about her mum’s death, and are hoping Lydia will one day be united with her mum.

Others think Beth isn’t Lydia’s sister at all and are convinced she’s an imposter pretending to be Lydia, so she can get money from Agatha.

Although we can’t reveal if Judith will be making another appearance as Agatha, we can share that Lydia’s in for more shocks over the coming weeks

What do you think of this storyline? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertaimentDailyFix.


Helen Fear
TV Editor

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