Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley has opened up about losing her sense of purpose after her mother died in 2012, just before she appeared on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
Speaking on Loose Women, the actress, best known for playing Mandy Dingle, shared that she did not feel she had any will to do anything when her mother died. Her comments came after the panel discussed Prince Harry's recent remarks about feeling a 'loss of purpose and identity' after leaving the British Army.
'I've lost my purpose'
As ITV's Kaye Adams admitted it can be 'frightening' to reach certain crossroads in life, she handed over to Lisa, who touched on how her world was turned upside down when her mum died. Lisa lost her mother, Cath, to cancer.
She commented: "I lost my mum, and from me being so young, it's not even like she was my chaperone. If I made the wrong decision, she was there for me. If I made the wrong choice, she defended me."
"When she died, I literally thought, 'I've lost my purpose, I've lost my job, I have no will to go and sit in that make-up chair and go and do my job'. I didn't want to, I wanted to bury my head in the sand completely and be a full ostrich."
Robin Windsor's support
Lisa then thanked Strictly Come Dancing for helping her, as she met her professional dancer Robin Windsor, who she referred to on the programme as her 'best friend'. She added: "The irony of that, you saw Robin and me on that dance floor week after week, living our best life, loving life and full of fun.
"Yet, behind the camera, there was so much going on for me and also for Robin. Robin was there for me; he was my dance partner, my grief counsellor, my therapist, all the way through. My family were so grateful for how he got me through the worst time of my life."
Lisa told her Loose Women co-stars that, down the line, she had to be that person for Robin as he went through his own personal struggles. In 2024, Robin took his own life at the age of 44 following a mental health deterioration.
Mum's final words
Speaking about how close her Strictly appearance was to her mother's death, Lisa explained her mum died in the fourth week of July, and she went on the BBC show in the third week of August.
As she shared that her mum knew she was going on the dance show, Lisa added: "She was unreal, we knew it was the end, it was palliative care.
"She just looked at me and went, 'Darling, don't worry about the dancing, just go out there, and you just be you'. That's what I did.
"Yes, ok, my feet did the right things, and Robin taught me that, but it was the best therapy anybody could ever wish for. I owe a lot to that programme, I really, really do."
