Lisa Riley has shared an update on her future on Emmerdale after being written out of the soap to appear on this year's series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! As one of 10 celebrities announced on Monday, the Mandy Dingle star will be heading to the Australian jungle to take part in the popular show, which returns to screens this Sunday, 16 November.
As is typical when soap stars join hosts Ant and Dec in the jungle, Mandy will be written out of the soap for several weeks to allow for her time on the reality show, which usually runs for three weeks.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Lisa assured fans that her character would be back on screens after her short break, saying: "Mandy Dingle will be back."
Ahead of her time on the show, Lisa said she was offered some advice from Aaron Dingle star Danny Miller, who won the 2021 series of I'm A Celeb.
"Everyone at Emmerdale has been so lovely. Danny Miller just told me to be myself. I've got no agenda doing this," Lisa said.
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On why she finally said yes to going into the jungle, Lisa said: "They have asked me to be in it numerous times before – but now I've finally said 'yes'. The reason is I'm going to be 50 next year, it's thirty years on and off playing Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale and ten years of being sober.
"It's like a big baguette where everything I wanted was in it! And it's I'm A Celebrity's 25th series anniversary too.
"Forget the NTAs and BAFTAs, the fact I'm going in the jungle means I am hopefully the best auntie in the world to my nephews, Jakey and Joshua, and niece, Everlyn. I can forever say to them I tackled the jungle head on. It's going to be ace."
Related: Emmerdale's Lisa Riley drops first Christmas spoilers - with "never been done before" plot
Opening up about her motivation to join the show, she continued: "I lost my best friend not so long ago and mum got diagnosed at the age of 48 (with breast cancer), I'm 49. Nothing can be as bad as that in life and I have got to see if I can do it. Every day is a blessing and I want to really enjoy everything."
Joining Lisa on the lineup for this year's show are former EastEnders star Martin Kemp, comedian Ruby Wax, presenter Kelly Brook, rapper Aitch, social media personality Morgan "AngryGinge" Burtwistle, EastEnders star Shona McGarty, comedian Eddie Kadi, footballer Alex Scott and Jack Osbourne.
I'm a Celebrity… airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
Read more I'm a Celebrity news on our dedicated homepage
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
