EMMERDALE star Lisa Riley has revealed the Christmas episode will be explosive after dropping a huge clue.
Lisa, who plays Mandy Dingle on the ITV soap, said she is currently filming a “never before seen storyline” for the festive period.
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The actress, 49, revealed that her on-screen father-in-law Bear will return after being missing for months.
Viewers saw him experience a series of concerning mood swings and angry outbursts just before he left the village.
Lisa has now revealed that director Vicky Thomas, who worked on the big limo ice crash last year, is directing this year’s Christmas episode – hinting it will be just as dramatic if they’ve enlisted her.
“Vicky Thomas who directed by big ice crash, is directing Christmas Day, so that speaks for itself,” Lisa told us at the Inside Soap Awards.
The limo car crash resulted in a number of Emmerdale favourites being killed off, including Suzy Merton, Leyla Harding, and Amy Wyatt.
Bosses are also preparing for the first ever Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover, which will see soap stars come together for a on-off special in January.
Lisa kept tight-lipped but said they’ll be plenty of “action” that will play out on the crossover episode
The soap favourite said: “There is a LOT of action happening. I can’t say [if I’m going to be part of it].
Among the chaos, Lisa said she will be at the centre of a new storyline with Bear and Paddy.
After Bear demonstrated erratic behaviour, Paddy was convinced he was suffering from depression – but Lisa has confirmed that it was a “curveball” thrown in by bosses.
Lisa told us: “You’re going to find out. It’s going to straggle over the whole of Christmas and into the New Year and it’s a storyline that’s never been done before.
“When we got the script, we were told months ago, it’s something really exciting.
“That’s so good about soaps, we’ve planned loads of things to knock you off kilter.
“We tackled Paddy’s suicide before and that probed people to liken it to what’s happened to Bear. Is that the truth? It might be a complete curveball.
“That’s why we’re lucky with our writers, they’re dropping stuff on purpose to knock you off kilter.”
ITV viewers watched Bear’s behaviour suddenly change.
One such episode came after his son Paddy was savagely attacked by a dog and he scathingly told him he needed to man up.
It made Paddy contemplate killing the dog to make the village safe and drove a wedge between the father and son that resulted in Paddy throwing Bear out of the house.
Bear packed his car up and lied about having a friend who had a bed he could use for as long as he wanted.
His absence has left fans wondering what has become of him and whether or not his anger issues were due to a mystery illness.
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