Now that Lisa Riley has clarified why it will be so powerful to see this side of Paddy (Dominic Brunt), Emmerdale is about to explore a heartbreaking suicide storyline with him.
Things are going to get even harder for Paddy, who has been struggling with his mental health for months, when he starts making plans to commit suicide in upcoming episodes.
He’ll abruptly leave the village without telling his loved ones, and in scenes that will air next month, he’ll start saying veiled farewells as he moves forward with his plans.
After feeling alone as a result of his wife Chas’ (Lucy Pargeter) affair with Al Chapman, his mental health began to deteriorate (Michael Wildman).
Lisa Riley, who plays Paddy’s best friend Mandy, has just clarified how crucial this plot will be.
When she appeared on Lorraine on Thursday, she said, “We are tackling depression in its most comprehensive form, and Emmerdale does that well.”
“We saw it last year with the Alzheimer’s and stroke storylines, and this year it will be about suicide,” the speaker said.
Speaking about the relationship between their characters, Lisa said that Mandy was a rock for her friend and that the two of them genuinely loved each other.
She claimed that Mandy and Paddy would allow her to support Paddy all the time, without passing judgment on him.
She added that they had been collaborating with groups like Samaritan’s to give viewers the confidence to ask for support.
We want to tell the story accurately, so it’s a slow burner, she said.
She further stated that in addition to the “laughter and love” that we had come to expect from the couple, we would now be seeing “loyalty and love” play out on screen.
The fact that the producers used two well-known comedic characters to tell this story and emphasize its seriousness, she claimed, “has an impact.”
It would have a “heck of a lot of impact,” Lorraine continued, coming from characters that viewers typically associated with a “bit of fun and silliness.”
Lisa began working on the soap opera as Mandy in 1995 and remained there for six years before leaving to work on other projects like The Bill, Waterloo Road, and Three Girls.
She has now embraced the opportunity to mentor the younger cast members since she returned to Emmerdale in 2019.
At the age of 46, she was being referred to as “nana,” and she was okay with it.
She advised her audience to try to ignore negative social media commentary.
It breaks my heart because I want them to go in and have that confidence and do what I did when I was a child, but I say don’t read that stuff that will hurt your feelings on social media because it does affect the young ones.
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