Lisa Riley thinks the idea of Mandy Dingle and Paddy Kirk getting back together on 'Emmerdale' is "ludicrous".

Lisa Riley

Lisa Riley

The 43-year-old actress - who initially starred in the ITV soap from 1995 to 2001 - recently returned to filming as Mandy but dismissed speculation that she'll be interfering in her ex-husband's (Dominic Brunt) current relationship with her cousin Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter).

She said: "It's going to be a lifelong friendship between Paddy and Mandy. Every piece of speculation I've read says that Mandy is going to split up Paddy and Chas. Of course she's not going to do that! It would be the most ludicrous idea ever.

"Mandy and Chas are like sisters - they're spiky with each other, but they're allies. And it's nice for Mandy to be a female confidante that Paddy can offload on. As we get towards the birth of Paddy's baby, you'll see that Mandy is elated that Paddy is happy. She'd never dent that."

But as she settles back into village life, Mandy will be looking to shake up her own family.

Lisa told RadioTimes.com: "She thinks the Dingles are getting a bit settled. She wants to get the fight back into them. She might even manipulate a few of them to get what she wants, which is money! She'll do anything to get it."

Lisa was back in the Dales in January for a brief return, alongside her on-screen son Vinny, but shes teased that what viewers saw then may not be what they seemed.

She said: "As for Vinny - what you've got to remember is that Mandy's a really good teacher and she's taught her son everything about how to manipulate, survive and get money. So maybe Vinny isn't who he says he is..."

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