Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley has opened up about her lowest moment in the jungle following her departure from the show.
The usually upbeat star admitted she felt “alone” and “vulnerable” as she tried to cope with the demands of camp life. At her lowest, the 49-year-old said she stepped away from the others and found a quiet moment by the creek.
“I sat there by myself and had a little chat with my mum,” she revealed. “I spoke to all my angels above — I’m so lucky — but especially to her. I just said, ‘Mum, I need strength. I need to get through this. I’m struggling, and everything feels really hard.’”
Lisa shared a deep connection with her mum Cath, whose death from cancer in 2012 at just 57 devastated her. The Emmerdale actress said she had found things especially difficult after the fish-gut trial, calling it the “toughest time” she faced.
When asked to describe how she felt, she said: “I felt alone, vulnerable… the challenge really takes it out of you, and there’s that pressure that you have to do well, that you have to provide.” She admitted that seeing everyone else excel in the trials added to the strain.
“We were getting huge numbers — no one scored fewer than six stars. And I did really well, too. I got a massive number. But when you get back to camp, you lose track of the day, the time, and you just want a little reassurance from home saying, ‘Lisa, you’re doing b***** brilliant.’”
She revealed that her toughest moment came after returning to camp following the trial. “We’d rushed out that morning so fast that I hadn’t brought any clean clothes. I had nothing — everything was soaked. I smelled like a wet fish market times nine and was covered in green gunk in the heat. I sat alone on the bottom step of the Telegraph. I just needed some time out,” she explained.
Lisa admitted that close friend Ruby Wax noticed her distress. “Ruby said, ‘baby’s lost her smile,’ and for her to see that… I had nothing left in me. I just thought, ‘This is really, really hard.’ So I went down to the far end of the creek where they collect wood. I just thought, ‘I stink. There’s no option B.’”
The actress revealed that her fellow campers were a big support during her toughest moments. She said: “Usually, I’m the one cheering everyone up during hard times. But Martin was there, Jack was there, Ruby… the boys, honestly. I’m old enough to be their mum, but I’ve been a sister or mother figure to them. That day, they were so instinctive — you could feel it around camp. Everyone was like, ‘Lisa’s low.’ My balloon had just popped.”
Thankfully, Lisa managed to recover, describing her jungle experience as “everything I wanted it to be and so much more.” She said she enjoyed it even more than Strictly and lost an impressive 20lbs during her time in camp, attributing it to “portion control” and constant activity.
“When you’re in there, people don’t really understand the lifestyle or the layout of the camp. It’s about how doable it is and how active you are,” she explained. “Even walking up to the Telegraph means step after step. During a challenge, you never stop moving — it’s relentless. It’s not just sitting around a campfire having fun.”
She also spoke humorously about her cheeky camp confession regarding Ant McPartlin. Lisa laughed: “Any red-blooded woman would say Ant is juicy, and he does look really good. But I’m in a very, very happy relationship — I couldn’t be happier. But as I always say, you can go to Waitrose, you don’t have to buy anything.”
When asked about any potentially awkward moments spotting Ant in camp, she said: “I wouldn’t say there were blushes. I’m a flirt — that’s just who I am. I flirt with everyone. I’m so secure in my relationship that I can do that, but I always know who I go home to, who loves me, and who I love.”
That love is with her long-term partner, Al, whom she’s been with for 12 years. “We know exactly where we stand with each other,” she explained. “Al knows fully what he’s got in me. I’m not shy — I’m very upfront. I love a laugh, I’m a flirt — why not?”
Lisa was also praised in camp for gently encouraging Jack to open up about his father Ozzy’s passing. She herself shared her experiences of losing her mum and her journey to sobriety.
She added: “People see us in the public eye and think it’s all champagne and glamour. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some of that, but I’m not champagne and glamour — I’m fish and chips, and that’s what I love. Jack’s the same. I feel so privileged to be part of a show that lets that curtain be pulled back.
“To think, people ask me, ‘What do you do in the supermarket?’ I’m doing the b***** shopping just like everyone else! And that’s what this show reveals: that I’m unapologetically fish and chips, and I hope it always stays that way.”
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