\n The Emmerdale actress, who celebrates her half century on July 13, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to drama and to charity.\n<\/p>\n
\n She is best known for playing Mandy Dingle in the long-running ITV soap between 1995 and 2001, and from 2019 onwards.\n<\/p>\n
\n The soap star, who went to Holly Mount RC Primary School in Greenmount and later St Gabriel’s High School, said of the honour: “Wow if this is not my best 50th birthday present being awarded an MBE in the King\u2019s Birthday Honours list, I don\u2019t know what is.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I am being awarded an MBE, Member of the Order of the British Empire, for my services to drama and to charity.\n<\/p>\n
\n (Image: Ian West\/PA)\n<\/p>\n
\n “To say I am humbled is an absolute understatement.\n<\/p>\n
\n “To have been able to do my job as an actor for 36 years now, never having a day out of work in our industry, is an honour in itself.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Riley, whose mother Cath died in her arms from pancreatic cancer, said she felt strongly about using her public profile to advocate for charities.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “My platform has enabled me to be an ambassador for my chosen charities: Breast Cancer Now, Maggie\u2019s Yorkshire, Sane and Sue Ryder.\n<\/p>\n
\n “These charities, since losing my beloved mum Cath to cancer, have helped me at times of grief, when I personally needed them the most.\n<\/p>\n
\n “So, giving back was the least I could do.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I made that promise to my mum before she died: I told her I would help as many families as possible, as we are all in this together, and we understand.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Riley said she wanted to thank her bosses at ITV for their \u201clove and loyalty\u201d over the years, adding: “I receive this today as the first ever cast member of Emmerdale to have been awarded an MBE.\n<\/p>\n
\n “For me playing the role of Mandy Dingle is the gift that keeps on giving.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Not only that, being a woman in our industry, sisterhood means everything to me.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The finest feeling today is that I can truly feel my mum\u2019s smile and her electric energy on my shoulders, the pride that her little girl \u2018DID IT\u2019!”\n<\/p>\n
\n She continued: “Thank you so much, my heart is the warmest it could ever be.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Finally to my partner Al and my gorgeous family, I love you.”\n<\/p>\n
\n (Image: ITV)\n<\/p>\n
\n Iain Macleod, creative director of continuing drama at ITV, offered his \u201chearty congratulations\u201d on behalf of ITV and the soap, for the \u201cwell-deserved\u201d honour.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: “As Mandy Dingle, she is a much-beloved presence on the nation\u2019s screens and she is no less loved by her friends and colleagues at Emmerdale for her compassion and indefatigable positivity.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This warmth and big-heartedness is in evidence in the amazing work she does for the many charities she so passionately supports.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Lisa is a genuine force for good in the world and we\u2019re all delighted for her.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Riley appeared as a contestant on the 10th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, when she was paired with Robin Windsor.\n<\/p>\n
\n She also appeared in I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2026Get Me Out of Here! in 2025, coming in fifth place.\n<\/p>\n
\n Her other screen credits include Fat Friends, Age Before Beauty, and as the presenter of You\u2019ve Been Framed between 1998 and 2002.\n<\/p>\n
\n She has also appeared on the Loose Women panel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Emmerdale actress, who celebrates her half century on July 13, has been made a Member of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-636835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}