Emmerdale's Lisa Riley reveals Mandy could have a secret SISTER already living in the village

(Image credit: ITV)

Could a Dingle family secret be revealed?

Emmerdale star Lisa Riley has predicted a Dingle family bombshell, in which her character, Mandy, and cousin Chas will be revealed to be sisters!

The actress made the shock revelation ahead of her return to the soap after almost 17 years.

Mandy will pitch up for a guest stint beginning on 7^th January, when she arrives at church for the official wedding of Marlon Dingle and Jessie Grant.

Emmerdale legend Mandy Dingle to return with MASSIVE secret after 17 years! — She's back to cause trouble...

Mandy, the ex wife of Paddy Kirk, will end up having a fight with Paddy’s current partner, Chas, who isn’t happy to see the former lovers laughing together.

But Chas is set for a further shock when it is later revealed that Mandy has a 16 year old son, Vinny. Could Paddy be the father?

Speaking about working with Lucy Pargeter, who plays Chas, Lisa says: "It was amazing. We’ve never worked together before, and on the first day I came back, I wanted to tell her how brilliant she has been.

chas and paddy emmerdale — Could Mandy and Chas be secret sisters?

She adds: "Everyone’s saying that Mandy and Chas are going to hate each other – but we shall see.

"They’re very similar in that they are females who show bravado and confidence when, inside, they’re hurting – that’s what they wrote for me.

"I honestly think that Mandy and Chas are sisters. It would be wonderful to explore that. They are so similar and they’ve been through so much turmoil."

Mandy’s mother is Vera-Lynn Dingle, who has never been seen on screen. Her father is supposedly Zak Dingle’s brother, Caleb, who made one appearance in the soap, back in 2000.

Chas’s mum is Faith Dingle, while her father is understood to be Zak’s brother, Shadrach, who died in 2010 when he drowned in a river after collapsing due to liver problems; a result of heavy drinking.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.

Picture credits: ITV

Alison Slade has over 20 years of experience as a TV journalist and has spent the vast majority of that time as Soap Editor of TV Times magazine. She is passionate about the ability of soaps to change the world by presenting important, issue-based stories about real people in a relatable way. There are few soap actors that she hasn’t interviewed over the years, and her expertise in the genre means she has been called upon as a judge numerous times for The British Soap Awards and the BAFTA TV Awards.

When she is not writing about soaps, watching soaps, or interviewing people who are in soaps, she loves going to the theatre, taking a long walk or pottering about at home, obsessing over Farrow and Ball paint.