Exclusive: Lisa Riley says Emmerdale cast were left reeling after reading new d.e.a.t.h plot as show ‘does Titanic’

Emmerdale is not a village for the faint-hearted.

There was the great storm of 2004, the even greater storm of 2024, the 2013 Woolpack siege, the 2015 helicopter disaster – and let’s not forget the infamous plane crash that k.i.l.l.e.d four and destroyed wiped out half the village in 1993. But now the show, which won best soap at this week’s TV Choice Awards, is about to air its most complex, terrifying and cinematic stunt to date – one that star Lisa Riley has dubbed “Emmerdale does Titanic”.

On Friday, viewers will see seven of the soaps’ biggest characters – including Lisa’s Mandy Dingle – involved in the much-anticipated crash as their two limousines collide, sending one flying bonnet first into a frozen lake. Trapped under the ice in the freezing water, not everyone will make it out alive. At least one beloved character will die –

with the new promo showing a haunting hand of a victim floating lifeless in the lake. As dramatic as it will be to watch, it was even more so to film – as our exclusive photos show.

It took two weeks of night shoots, 90 crew including specialist divers and medics, an overflow carpark, some liquid wax and lots and lots of soup to keep the actors warm. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Lisa, 48, says: “One thing we are brilliant at Emmerdale is our stunts and we are really proud of this one. It’s the biggest one I’ve been involved in – even bigger than the storm for our 50th birthday!

“This is big. It’s a huge white-knuckle ride. As soon as us Dingle girls read the scripts, we all let out a squeal as we didn’t see any of it coming. It’s so cinematic that it really is a case of ‘Emmerdale does the Titanic’.” She’s keeping tight-lipped on whether Mandy survives but admits there’s been nervousness on set.

Dominic Brunt (Paddy Kirk), Lucy Pargeter (Chas Dingle) and Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle) are also among the ill-fated seven who were told one of them would get the chop. “Whenever there is a stunt that involves a d.e.a.t.h, I will always be on standby to phone my agent,” says Lisa. “[in case] it means I am going to need to get a new job!”

It’s something on all their minds at the moment. The soap has seen some big departures in recent months and last week, ITV announced it was scaling back the number of episodes on both Coronation Street and Emmerdale at the start of 2026, meaning both will lose 30 minutes each.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: It’s a girls’ day out for Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) but which friends will get in an ill-fated limo?

The decision – taken after the Valentine’s Day plot was filmed – means there will sadly be up to 75 jobs lost across cast, crew and production on both soaps. The two shows will then be aired back-to-back each weeknight in a new “power hour” between 8 and 9pm. Lisa, of course, is used to the insecurity that comes with showbusiness, having joined Emmerdale in 1995. “We are all jobbing actors on the soap and there is never a day where we come in and go: ‘Oh we are safe’,” says Lisa.

“We are a chess piece on the producer’s board. Whatever they bring to us, we bring it to the screen. And there is always going to be a day when a new producer might come in and need a big wipe out. That is what keeps the audience involved too and so we have to keep up with the climate of what people expect.”

Even so, Lisa says it never ceases to amaze her just how popular Emmerdale continues to be despite an ever-changing TV landscape. She adds: “Whenever I am out and about, people tell me: ‘We love Emmerdale’. The fact that I get to be part of it is wonderful. ITV make some big dramas that can be five episodes long. We do five parts in a week. The hamster wheel never stops.” And it’s certainly been busy with Friday’s big episode.

The nightmare begins when the characters get into two limousines. When the cars crash, one flies into the lake – but viewers won’t immediately know who is in which. Emmerdale’s production team first started planning the Valentine’s Day episode in August 2024 and in total, 90 members of crew and specialist contractors were involved. The dramatic scenes were filmed during a night shoot that took two weeks just before Christmas on the soap’s overflow car park in Yorkshire. It was cleverly converted into an icy lake by a specialist special effects TV company, Snow Business, using a liquid wax to create the effect of the ice.

The soap’s production manager Neil Shand explains: “We used lots of special equipment to film this stunt. To create the icy lake itself, our contractors, used specialist equipment to heat and create the liquid wax used for the icy surface. We knew that we would be filming for two weeks and so that’s why the ice was wax and fake rather than real. The unpredictability of the great British weather meant we needed an icy lake that was safe too. It looked so authentic, everyone felt as though it was genuinely icy!”

Scenes were filmed between 3.30pm and 2.30am with cast arriving an hour earlier for make-up. “We love doing night shoots,” admits Lisa. “We all have a good laugh and we wrapped up by 2am. But we had the morning to obviously sleep in.” Hand warmers and water bottles were available for any of the cast to use and warm rooms plus showers were a dozen steps away.

“I did have three layers under my dress,” says Lisa, laughing as she does. “And Mandy’s fur on too. We had dry robes as well to rehearse in. It was damp more than anything and it was like being in the Girl Guides at times as they handed out mugs of soup too. But it was a lot of fun and there were plenty of laughs. The Dingles know how to have fun!” To film the crash itself the production team needed a huge high lift platform, a wire rig and camera cranes.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: One of the ill-fated Limos hurtles into the frozen lake – but who is inside?

Neil, explains: “As well as suspending the limo over the ice using a specially constructed ‘wire rig’, which controlled the descent of the limo, we also created a special ‘ramp’ for it to rest on and make it safe for the cast to get in and out of the limo when it was ‘in’ the ice.” They also brought in diving safety teams, stunt coordinators and medics for both the above ice scenes and the underwater shots, which were filmed in a special water tank in Leeds.

Although the long hours meant both the cast and crew were tired by the end of the fortnight’s filming, Lisa says it has all been worth it. She will be watching the dramatic episode this Valentine’s Day with her partner, Al, whom she has been together with for 10 years. “I still can’t believe Mandy is still here even filming this stunt plotline,” she says excitedly. “I love the speculation surrounding it.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Riley’s Mandy Dingle was enjoying quite the night out before the big limo crash. But will she be one of the lucky ones who make it home?

“I love how when I go to the supermarket people will come up and ask if I’m involved. I remember when Paula Lane and I were recently snapped going for lunch. We put (on our social media) we were off to the night shoot and everyone immediately thought it was Paula. But I’m not going to say whether this speculation was right or not…!” If Mandy does manage to walk away unscathed from the crash, July will be her 30th anniversary of when her character first arrived in the Dales village.

“It’s really weird as I can remember my first scene as if it were yesterday,” says Lisa. “She was running with Ian Kelsey who is Beth Cordingly’s real life partner. I would like to think I am older and wiser now!” And one thing fans can be certain of – Lisa still adores Emmerdale as much as she did 30 years ago. Smiling, she declares: “I bl**dy love my job.”

*Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV1 and STV1 at 7.30pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.