Things have become incredibly dark in the Kirk/Dingle residence in Emmerdale.
Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) are neck deep in a murder cover up, after Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) accidentally killed drug dealer, human trafficker and all around scum bag, Ray Walters (Joe Absolom).
With Dylan’s assertations that the police would disregard the sheer torture, drugging and abuse Bear had suffered and see him as nothing more than a murderer, Paddy was convinced to hide Ray’s body, rather than report the death to the authorities.
Paddy set about spinning a web of deceit, acting shocked as he ‘learned’ of Bear’s victimisation at the hands of Ray and top dog Celia Daniels’ (Jaye Griffiths) trafficking and slavery exploit.
One key component of the family that’s been missing throughout all of the grimness is Paddy’s beloved wife, Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), who’s off trying to deal with cousin Tina’s (Samantha Power) mess. A necessity, so actress Lisa could compete on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Though Lisa confirmed she had returned to filming back in December, she’s yet to reappear on screen.
When is Mandy Dingle back in Emmerdale?
Fear not, though. Lisa has taken to Instagram to reassure fans that Mandy will be back incredibly soon.
‘Yes yes yes, I’ve read all your messages that Paddy & Dylan @dominicbrunt & @fred_kettle are in a lot of trouble in @emmerdale’ she began the caption.
‘I can tell you we film far far far in advance-yes I’ve been back filming since 15th December…Mandy will be back week three in Feb…keep watching for endless drama – that I can promise you…love to you all. #emmerdale @itv #itv’
Fans were obviously overjoyed that the Dingle favourite will be back imminently, with @wwwerose70 saying: ‘So can’t wait to see you back again soon,I’m sure we have got some fantastic stories coming up x’
‘Can’t wait to have you back on screen’ said @emiliekayy, while @littlemissrubyslippers added: ‘Love this love this love this love you as Mandy oh and I always say I’d always invite Mandy dingle over’.
Can't wait for the next twist?
Hi, I’m Stephen Patterson, Metro’s deputy soaps editor.
If you want to stay up to date on the latest spoilers from Hollyoaks, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Corrie and more, sign up to our daily Soaps Newsletter.
From the big moments to the gossip you can’t miss, it’s all in your inbox every morning. Sign up now.
Don't miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
@laurab_ell enthused: ‘Can’t wait to have you back on our screens. Mandy is the best!’ mirrored by @nicoli1985, who said: ‘Can’t wait to have you back! You got a lot to catch up on Mandy’
@heatherdawn.reed can’t wait for Mandy to realise just what she’s returned home to: ‘Cannot wait for Mandy’s reaction when she gets back to the village’
@jane.mcgann echoed a lot of fans’ sentiments: ‘get that mandy back…PADDY NEEDS YOU!!’ with @katbremner agreeing: ‘Can’t wait to see you back on screen again as a lovely family and bear needs Mandy all your boys need you!’
@erinbreen28 reckons that, had Mandy never left, the Ray saga would’ve been resolved an entirely different way: ‘She should’ve gave ray her kung fu panda before she left would’ve solved it all’
Lisa’s heartbreak
Lisa recently appeared on Loose Women and opened up about the difficulties she’s faced in regards to her fertility.
‘I’ve spoken a lot, about me personally, being a catholic, it drummed into us, you don’t use contraception and you don’t have sex before marriage’, she explained.
‘That was in my head a lot, then later in life, I did choose my career.
‘Apps weren’t available then to look at your cycle, I waited…waited…found the right person in Al, when it came to the time of trying, I couldn’t fall pregnant.
‘I would have given everything in my life to have had a child.’
Following her appearance on the show, Lisa had to deal with clickbait headlines and false news reports, leading to fans congratulating her on a ‘pregnancy’.
Taking to Instagram, she said: ‘This is no one’s fault apart from fake news, clickbait and oh my God what world do we live in?
‘I am 100% not pregnant. I have been inundated with congratulations today. And do you know what makes that even more sick? The fact that only this week on Loose Women I was talking about the fact that me and Al, my other half, we couldn’t get pregnant.
‘We tried IVF and it didn’t work. But still the very strange people out there feel they need to clickbait and put out fake news that I am pregnant.
‘So clarification, I’m not pregnant. I think if I was pregnant I might have told people. Just food for thought, when you read something, go to the person’s social media, have a look if they’ve said anything. If they haven’t, it’s probably fake news.’