Emmerdale star Lisa Riley has been flooded with messages of support after she was forced to hit back at 'absolutely horrendous' fake posts announcing she is pregnant. The actress, from Bury, who is famed for playing Mandy Dingle in the ITV soap, has been with her partner, Al, since 2014, and had previously opened up about her journey with IVF and how she eventually came to the conclusion that becoming a mother wasn't 'meant to be'.
Lisa's IVF journey and decision to prioritise career
Speaking on Loose Women earlier this year, Lisa told how she spent a lot of time prioritising her career, and how when she decided to try and fall pregnant with Al, she realised she wasn't able to.
"I've spoken a lot, about me personally, being a catholic, it drummed into us, you don't use contraception and you don't have sex before marriage," she shared. "That was in my head a lot, then later in life, career, I did chose my career, apps weren't available then to look at your cycle, I waited… waited… found the right person in Al, when it came to the time of trying, I couldn't fall pregnant. I would have given everything in my life to have had a child."
Angry response to fake posts on Instagram
Despite her previous openness, Lisa was left sharing an angry message to her Instagram account on Monday (August 24) as she responded to the "lies" being shared about her on social media. The TV star, 50, shared the fake photographs to her page, with the images including one of her holding an infant, and an edited snap showing her proudly displaying a sonogram, implying that she is pregnant.
Alongside a number of angry emojis, Riley wrote: "THIS HAS TO STOP!!!!! It's absolutely horrendous!!! Saying that I'm pregnant again!! How is this allowed it makes me so upset… What world do we live in that these lies, and more lies are allowed to be put in the public domain. I'm sick to death of it now!!!"
Support from fellow stars and soap response
The post received support from fellow stars such as actress and former Coronation Street star Kym Marsh, who wrote: "This is awful! Hope you're ok darling." Former Loose Women co-star Denise Welch said "I'm dealing with it myself but something far, far less important" and urged for fake, AI-generated posts to stop, adding: "It's disgraceful, damaging and cruel!"
But it is not the first time that Lisa has been subject to false pregnancy rumours. Earlier this year, the soap star responded to another AI-generated post claiming she was pregnant. Meanwhile, ITV soap Emmerdale, alongside Corrie, also responded to the fake news about its cast members, sharing a message to its Instagram page on, which was later reposted by Lisa.
It said: "It has been brought to our attention that a lot of AI-generated Facebook pages are posting fake news about Emmerdale and Coronation Street actors and the programmes in general. Some of these posts are extremely hurtful and damaging to reputations. Please only follow genuine news outlets and feel free to report those you think are fake via the usual methods."
