Inside Emmerdale’s Isabel Hodgins’ wedding with co-star guests and baby bombshell

A soap star since she was just 12 years old, Emmerdale favourite Isabel Hodgins is used to all eyes being on her. Fast-forward almost 20 years and she’s marrying her soulmate, teacher Adam Whitehead, in front of her nearest and dearest, including many of the stars of the ITV show. “I know I’m an actor but I don’t like being the centre of attention,” admits Isabel, as we catch up with her days after her wedding.

But while she confesses to not enjoying the wedding planning process as much as she’d hoped, the same can’t be said for the day itself. “A wedding’s quite stressful, so even before it I was over it,” she laughs. “Then the day came and I was like, we’ll just go with the flow. It was perfect. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it, how full my heart was. It was just brilliant.”

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Isabel may earn her bread and butter in a Yorkshire soap, but she’s Manchester through and through so only a city-centre ceremony would do – and they got married at the cool Castlefield Rooms. “Some of our first dates were in town,” explains Isabel. “And we like to run there, so I think it was nice that we kept it there.”

The pair were blessed with beautiful weather, so Isabel’s strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline from Australian designer Sassi Holford was the perfect choice, despite her initial reservations and a stressful dress-picking process. Isabel explains, “At first, I was like, ‘Why am I looking at sleeveless dresses for an April wedding? What an idiot.’ But we struck gold with the weather.

“I’m only 5ft 2in and a half and I feel like wedding dresses are made for tall ladies,” she continues. “I thought it would be more fun than it was. The dresses were beautiful, but not on me, so I quickly realised it needed to be plain because otherwise it’s the dress wearing me, not me wearing the dress. And whenever I tried a veil, I felt like I was playing dress-up.”

So she kept her choice simple – and it paid off. “I felt beautiful in it, which is all you want,” she tells us. Helped by her bridesmaids, Emmerdale co-star Eden Taylor Draper and school pal Shannon Moran, as well as her mum, Isabel says she just about managed to keep her emotions in check while getting ready.

“My dad came up, looked me up and down and just said, ‘Wow.’ If he’d started saying nice things, he would have sent me over the edge.”

Isabel held it together for the entire day – but the same can’t be said for Adam.

“It’s funny, because I made a joke before the wedding,” she explains. “The whole time we’ve been together, Adam’s cried once. He’s not an emotional person. And I was like, ‘If you don’t cry when I walk down that aisle, how is that going to make me feel?’ But he did, he got teary.”

Isabel says walking down the aisle to Perfect For Me by Bradley Marshall in front of 63 guests was a magical moment. “It was so special,” she beams. There was so much light coming into the room, and he looked so handsome. I was too happy to be emotional. It was like, ‘There he is, I can’t to be his wife.’”

And Adam was bowled over by his beautiful bride. “She looked incredible,” he says. “She knows I love it when she has her hair up, so the first thing I said to her when she got down the aisle was, ‘I like your hair.’ We go to the gym together every day, so I had an inkling she’d be revealing her back.”

Adam was so taken aback by Isabel’s beauty and the occasion that nerves got to him. “I forgot my name during the vows,” he laughs. “That was the worst part, the vows. I was so nervous. I’m not a big fan of public speaking. I’m a teacher and do it front of kids, but when it’s in front of people your age, it’s different. I was sweating.”

“I’ve never seen him like that before,” says Isabel. “I said, ‘You’ve messed up now so that’s fine, you’ve got it out your system.’”

With the vows out of the way, the pair could relax. They walked out as man and wife to Adam’s favourite band Coldplay’s hit A Sky Full Of Stars.

Some photos around Manchester city followed and then it was back to the venue to enjoy a slap-up meal of mini beef pie and peas, chicken wrapped in parma ham and sticky toffee pudding. Next up was the speeches, with Adam, his best man and Isabel’s dad Graham all grabbing the mic. But the most memorable of all was from the bride herself.

“It bothers me that it’s just the men, so I was like, ‘I’ll absolutely be speaking,’” says Isabel. Supportive Adam was impressed. “I was proud she wanted to do her own speech,” he says. “Power to the women.”

Isabel admits writing it was stressful – she did it last minute, the night before the big day – but actually saying it was a breeze. She relived the moment she made the first move on Adam two and a half years earlier at the gym – and how she has her dad to thank for playing his part.

“I had a crush on Adam at the gym,” she explains. “I thought he was younger than me, which was an issue. I train with my dad and I said I wanted to know how old he was. My dad went over and asked him!”

“Her dad was her wingman,” Adam laughs. “I said that in my speech. He came up to me on that Monday morning and said, ‘How old are you?’ And when I answered he said ‘Thanks’ and walked off. There was no small talk. The day after, Isabel requested to follow me on Instagram and it started to make sense.”

The pair met when Adam was 25 and Isabel was 28. They got engaged in November 2023, when they were 28 and 31 – the age gap no longer an issue. “At the start I made such a fuss about it,” recalls Isabel. “He thought I was going to break up with him over it! Now we’re married and it’s a non issue.”

They later discovered they went to the same school. “We were born in the same hospital, went to the same school, went to the same gym,” said Adam. “We have so much in common.”

Isabel and Adam have found they are kindred spirits, bonding over their obsession with the gym.

“Basically me and Adam are like a nana and a granddad trapped in younger bodies,” giggles Isabel. “His best man was saying in his speech, ‘How do I plan a stag do for somebody who doesn’t drink and who goes to bed at 7.30? Which we do, because we get up at 4.30 to go to the gym every day.’

“And then he said, ‘I didn’t feel that bad because Isabel’s hen do was pottery painting.’ We’re two old souls! Every morning we do an hour session at the gym and then go to work.”

Isabel hasn’t drunk alcohol in five years, and Adam decided to ditch booze after meeting her.

“It’s the best gift I could have given myself, as I remembered everything from the wedding,” says Isabel. But the absence of alcohol didn’t mean the pair weren’t up on the dance floor. Their first dance was the orchestral version of I Could Get Used To This by Becky Hill, after which they continued partying until midnight.

“I was quite an antisocial bride,’ admits Isabel. “Once the evening kicked off, you could not get me off the dance floor. I took my heels off. I was over being poised and looking like little lady bride.”

“I’ve never been one for dancing, especially since not drinking, but I’ve never danced so much,” Adam agrees. “We wanted a chilled but fun wedding and we got exactly that. I had that walking on cloud nine feeling, like you don’t want to stop.”

They were joined on the dance floor by Emmerdale pals Danny Miller, Mark Jordon, Laura Norton, Jeff Hordley and Zoë Henry, and Isabel says her co-stars are like family to her after almost 19 years in the Dales.

“I’ve known them for so long, Laura’s like a sister to me. Eden was my bridesmaid. They’re just all such special, beautiful people. I said in my speech that me and Adam hadn’t been going out for very long and I was telling Zoë about him and she was like, ‘I’ve got a feeling you’re going to marry this man.’ She just knew.”

Secondary school PE teacher Adam says he was oblivious to Isabel’s day job when they first crossed paths in the gym. “I recognised her face but didn’t know where from,” he says. “When she followed me, I realised she was from Emmerdale. I went to the Soap Awards with her and only then appreciated how big she is. I’m proud, but she hates watching herself so we don’t watch it.”

After a two-night minimoon to Saltmoore just outside Whitby – a touching surprise from her Emmerdale wedding guests – Isabel was back to work on set the following day. “It was full-on,” she admits.

She and Adam have plans for a big California trip in the summer, and they’re already thinking further ahead than that, with dreams of starting a family. “If that happens, amazing. If it doesn’t, I’ll say that’s fine too, but I won’t really mean it,” laughs Isabel. “My sister had two toddlers during lockdown. I moved in with them. I just loved it. I think I’m ready to have that myself now.”

Adam agrees, “Having a family is our next step. I’m looking forward to what the future brings.”