Mandy Dingle, played by the utterly inimitable Lisa Riley, is an undisputed fan favourite in Emmerdale.
Arriving all the way back in 1995 as yet another delightfully chaotic limb of the Dingle family tree, Mandy made her presence known in the village with her wild ways, eventually falling in love with local vet, Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt).
Though she married her cousin, Butch Dingle (Paul Loughran) in order to win a caravan – yes, really – she divorced him not long after in order to marry our Pads. The relationship was broken when Mandy cheated, though she remained determined to win him back.
Paddy, though, had moved on with Emily Wylie (Kate McGregor), andMandy accepted defeat and left, reappearing nearly twenty years later alongside her adopted son, Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson). As she and Paddy circled one another again, their reunion was disrupted by the arrival of Vinny’s dad, Paul Ashdale (Reece Dinsdale).
Though they were set to marry, their nuptials were scuppered when the truth of his vile abuse of Vinny was revealed, and he later died in a fiery explosion. With Paddy’s own marriage to Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) destroyed, he and Mandy finally reunited and got married for a second time.
Since returning to Emmerdale, Mandy has had to navigate Vinny’s discovery that he’s not her biological son, opening her own salon, and Paddy’s involvement in the murder of Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), but is she here for the long haul?
Is Mandy leaving Emmerdale?
Emmerdale has reportedly been rocked by ITV’s cost-cutting measures in regards to their two premiere soaps, with both Emmerdale and Coronation Street forced to reduce their cast lists, and remaining characters facing a loss of episodes and screen time after both shows had one of their weekly episodes cut.
A victim of these cuts has been Vinny, Mandy’s treasured boy, who’ll reportedly bow out shortly. This, of course, led to fans wondering if Mandy would depart alongside her son. Last week on Loose Women, though, Lisa was quick to address the fan’s concerns.
‘I’m not leaving. No, I’m not leaving at all. We can quash that completely. I’m very much staying as Mandy Dingle for a very long time,’ Lisa declared, putting viewers minds at rest in regard to her future on the show.
Emmerdale cast changes
While Lisa has assured Mandy’s future, there are a number of changes coming to the show. Alongside the aforementioned departure of Vinny, two other village stalwarts will be departing.
Olivia Bromley will be departing from her role as Dawn Taylor after 8 years in the village, with her axing believed to be directly related to the cost-cutting measures over at ITV.
Alongside Olivia, Nick Miles will be bowing out as Jimmy King after a 22 year stint on the show.
Alongside the departures of Dawn, Jimmy and Vinny, there’ll be two huge returns to rock the villagers, as sinister and seductive Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) returns to her old haunt, no doubt to continue sowing seeds of chaos and calamity.
Slightly-unhinged Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill), introduced as a baddy and threat to fan’s beloved Robron who – very quickly – stole the hearts of audiences with his whacky ways and unconventional method of getting things done, will also be returning to the Yorkshire Dales.
