Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley reveals how 1.5st I’m A Celeb weight loss caused continuity chaos

Lisa Riley lost 20lbs while taking part in I’m A Celeb in 2025(Image: James Gourley/Publishd/Shutterstock)

Lisa Riley has revealed her stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! inadvertently caused chaos for her on the set of Emmerdale. The 49-year-old TV star has played Mandy Dingle on the long-running soap since 1995.

But last year, she had a few weeks away from the ‘dales as she took time out to frolic in the Australian jungle as a contestant on I’m A Celeb. Under the watchful gaze of hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the soap star endured bush tucher trials, slept under the stars, and was forced to cook and clean in camp.

Contestants on the reality popularity contest notoriously losing weight while taking part in the show – and Lisa was no exception. After just 20 days in the jungle, Lisa lost almost a stone and a half in weight – which provoked a continuity issue on the set of Emmerdale once she returned to filming.

With the dramatic weight loss, the star was aided by the costume department who began lining her outfits before she appeared on set. Lisa told The Sun: “I am wearing layers and layers on set.

“I like Mandy to be curvy. I am embracing it. Because it has been freezing cold when we are outside in the village filming, I have had two hot water bottles on my bum. So, Mandy’s bum might look bigger when people tune in on Tuesday, too.”

She added: “I am proud of how much weight I lost on I’m A Celebrity. I feel amazing.” Her update comes after Lisa previously told The Mirror that she began losing weight long before she joined the I’m A Celeb cast after ditching alcohol.

The star admitted she had turned to drinking to cope with grief after the loss of her mother. The Emmerdale star revealed she could easily drink three bottles of wine per night to numb her grief before she took a stand and vowed to change her life.

Opening up in early 2025 about the life-changing moment when she decided to go sober, Lisa said, “I had my last ever drink in a pub in Bury. I was in The Clarence with relatives, reminiscing about my mum one August. We drank a lot and I said to myself, ‘I’m not doing this any more.’ I set myself a challenge to stop drinking until Christmas.

“When I went to a family christening that October, there was pressure to drink, but that was everyone else’s problem, not mine. I then started to play a bit of a game with myself about how long I could go, but got a bit obsessed and fixated on the numbers.”

The star celebrated a decade of being sober on 19 August, saying she has “never felt better”. She said, “I’ve realised how brilliant my life is and feel like I don’t need it [alcohol]. It’s not like I ever faced a major struggle, I just don’t need it, like it or want it any more.”

After losing weight in the jungle, a source close to the star told The Mirror how the additional weight loss had been a boost to Lisa’s self confidence. They said: “She lost so much weight in the jungle and feels really fit and healthy. That show really helped her in so many ways. She felt she was a real mummy of the jungle and everyone came to her, and it’s given her a real confidence boost. Plus, on the body front, she’s never felt better. Her skin’s great, she looks great and she’s going to continue it.”

The source says Lisa “wants to capitalise on her success” and take on other projects outside Emmerdale, which she’s starred in for 30 years. “Lisa has big plans for 2026,” our source said. “She wants to do more presenting. She’d love to do more in fashion, things that are different, and she’s got this new confidence from being in the jungle.”