Lisa Riley had to turn down a lengthier Emmerdale return offer due to other commitments.
The 42-year-old actress will reprise her role as Mandy Dingle in the new year and the star has admitted she was asked to put pen to paper on a longer deal but she wasn’t able to, meaning her return storyline had to be changed.
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She said: “The first initial offer was for a long period, but because of work and my commitments, there was an original storyline which has been flipped.
“It won’t be what people expect, which is even better. It leaves things very much open for the new year, shall we say.
“I had a secret meeting with the show and I had time to have a think about whether it was the right thing, but it didn’t take me a long time once they told me the story.”
However, Lisa has hinted Mandy may be back in the Dales for good at some point.
When asked if her departure will leave the door open for a return, she replied: “Yes! I’m not dead. I’m very much alive.”
Mandy will make a dramatic return to the village alongside her 16-year-old son Vinnie, who will be played by The Syndicate star Brad Johnson.
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Speaking about her co-star, Lisa told Digital Spy: “He was in Kay Mellor’s The Syndicate and he’s brilliant.
“Vinnie comes to the village with Mandy and the avenues of where the stories can be taken are huge. I’m so excited.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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