Former Emmerdale star Lisa is an unlikely sex bomb

Mar 14 2008 By Richard Evans

AN UNLIKELY sex siren promises laughter and tears before she leads out a selection of some of TV’s best-loved soap stars in Llandudno next month. Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley will take to the stage as Bev in The Naked Truth, a show about women who turn up at their local church hall to learn how to pole dance for a charity event!

Lisa, who played Mandy Dingle in the ITV1 soap, will be joined by Hollyoaks star Julie Buckfield, Gemma Wardle of Life On Mars and Samantha Seager and Jayne Tunnicliffe, both of Coronation Street.

Lisa is looking forward to arriving in Llandudno for the show having already appeared in Venue Cymru’s Jack and the Beanstalk panto four years ago.

"I loved Llandudno. The people are so lovely. I remember being there and doing my Christmas shopping and people would stop and say ‘hi Lisa’!" she said.

"The apartment I rented was right on the seafront, it was so crisp and cold as it was Christmas."

Lisa revealed that she didn’t have to think twice about accepting the part, which was literally made for her, and also revealed her character Bev wasn’t far removed from the part as Mandy.

"I jumped at the chance as Dave Simpson wrote my part for me. He wrote for Emmerdale so he knows my strengths and weaknesses," she said.

"Bev is very similar to Mandy, she is very chips and egg, but more daring than Mandy. She says the unspeakable, she says things for effect. But underneath she’s got a dark secret."

While the theme of the show is unavoidably female, and even tackles serious issues like breast cancer, Lisa said the oestrogen-packed performance shouldn’t deter husbands and boyfriends. Lisa also recommends pole dancing to women who want to shed a few pounds.

"I always say that men will absolutely love it – it is pole dancing and there is going to be a treat at the end for them!" she said. "A lot of men can relate to at least one of the women’s stories. It was really daunting learning to pole dance – what was great was we were all going into it blind so we could all help each other. I lost a stone and a half last year, I’ve heard half an hour on the pole is equivalent to 60 lengths of an Olympic pool!

"It is a wonderful, fun evening about real women, so men please come along and don’t be scared!"

The Naked Truth is at Venue Cymru at 8pm from April 3-5. There will also be a Saturday matinee performance at 2.30pm. Tickets are between £14-£20. For more information contact the box office on 01492 872000.