Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress, comedian and television presenter. She is best known for playing Mandy Dingle in the long-running ITV soap opera Emmerdale between 1995 and 2001, and from 2019 onwards. She replaced Jeremy Beadle as the presenter of You've Been Framed! between 1998 and 2002. She also appeared as a contestant on the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and the twenty-fifth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in fifth place on both. Riley has appeared sporadically as a panelist on the ITV daytime series Loose Women.
Career
Riley trained at the Oldham Theatre Workshop 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 and Brookside as well as a cast member in Butterfly Kiss which was directed by Michael Winterbottom. She then appeared in a guest role as Mandy Dingle in the British soap opera Emmerdale 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 for "Most Popular Newcomer" for her work in Emmerdale. She continued to play Mandy until 2001 after deciding to pursue other television roles.
Riley played Princess Jean in the CITV Awards 1997, and also presented You've Been Framed! between 1998 and 2002, taking over from the former presenter, Jeremy Beadle and raising viewers figures to more than 13 million at its peak in the process.
In 1999, Riley co-presented the six-part ITV series Birthrace 2000 with Davina McCall, which featured couples trying to have the first baby of the millennium. Riley played Goody McEldrich in a 2011 episode of the UK children's show 'Young Dracula', and during 2012, she appeared as Nadia Hicks in the second series of ITV crime drama, Scott & Bailey. 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 Strictly Come Dancing, partnering with Robin Windsor. She has since appeared on the 2013 live tour and the backstage show Strictly Confidential, directed by Craig Revel Horwood, who often praised her on the show. 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, 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.
In November 2025, after having turned down the show several times, it was announced that Riley would appear as a contestant on the twenty-fifth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. On 5 December, she was eliminated alongside Jack Osbourne finishing in 5th place.
Personal life
In late 2016, Riley lost over 10 stone in weight, and a year later, she had a surgery to remove excess skin.
Stage roles and filmography
Theatre
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Title
! Role
! Location
|-
| 1999–2000
| Dick Whittington
| The Spirit of the Beans
| Bradford Alhambra
|-
| 2016–2017
| Aladdin
| Genie of the Ring
| Wolverhampton Grand
|-
| 2017–2018
| Jack and the Beanstalk
| Fairy
| Wolverhampton Grand
|-
| 2018–2019
| Beauty and the Beast
| Mrs Potty
| New Theatre, Cardiff
|-
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1995
| Butterfly Kiss
| Danielle
|
|-
| 1996
| The Woolpackers: Emmerdance
| rowspan=3|Mandy Dingle
| rowspan=3|Emmerdale spin-off video
|-
| 1997
| Emmerdale: The Dingles Down Under
|-
| 1999
| Emmerdale: Don't Look Now! - The Dingles in Venice
|-
| 2000
| Secret Society
| Beth Trailor; Amazon Woman No. 1
|
|-
| 2006
| Six Bend Trap
| Mary Myrani
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1994
| Coronation Street
| Bettabuy Worker (uncredited)
| Episode #3666
|-
| 1995–2001, 2019–present
| Emmerdale
| Mandy Dingle
| Series regular
|-
| 1997
| Flight
| Unnamed
| Television film
|-
| 1998–2002
| You've Been Framed!
| Presenter
|
|-
| 1999
| Put Out More Fags
| Cath
| Television film
|-
| 1999
| Birthrace 2000
|-
| 1999
| 5th National Television Awards
| Most Popular Actress
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2004
| TV Quick Awards
| Best Actress
| Fat Friends
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2020
| Inside Soap Awards
| Best Actress
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2020
| Inside Soap Awards
| Best Partnership (shared with Bradley Johnson)
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2021
| 26th National Television Awards
| Serial Drama Performance
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2021
| Inside Soap Awards
| Best Actress
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2022
| 2022 British Soap Awards
| Best Comedy Performance
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2022
| Inside Soap Awards
| Best Comic Performance
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|-
| 2024
| RadioTimes.com Soap Awards
| Best Comedy Performance
| Emmerdale
|
| align="center" |
|}
See also
- List of Strictly Come Dancing contestants