The star exclusively reveals all on being nominated in the RadioTimes.com

Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages.

Lydia Dingle displayed bravery, strength and resilience in a hard-hitting

storyline that saw the much-loved Emmerdale matriarch raped by childhood friend Craig Reed.

One of the most powerful plots of the year has been recognised in the RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages, in the Best Storyline and Best Twist categories, and has rightly earned Karen Blick a Best Actor nomination for her emotional performance.

In an exclusive interview, the star reflects on Lydia’s past and teases her dramatic future.

Was it frustrating to play her keeping it a secret for so long?
Initially yes, but the majority of women like Lydia don’t tell anybody, sometimes for as long as 30 or 40 years. Viewers screamed at the telly for her to tell the police, but Lydia wasn’t even sure if she’d be believed. All that thought process was handled really well by Emmerdale, and Rape Crisis went through every script.

Can you understand why Lydia didn’t speak up earlier?
She lived with her secret past as Jenny, and the stillbirth she had in her teens, for years, so we know she compartmentalises things. I’ve studied psychology informally for years, and if someone has a traumatic experience when they’re young you can almost erase it. Our brains are very clever and try to protect us by pretending it didn’t happen, but storing it up means there’ll be an explosion down the line, these things always make their way out.

Which moments from the last year stand out for you?
When Lydia confronted Craig in his office and said I know you’re a rapist – that was really powerful. We saw Lydia take her power back and draw a line under it. Then at Belle and Tom’s wedding, Lydia and Sam came back together and had a dance after exploring the difficulty of being intimate again. There was no rush, and I’m glad we saw Sam’s side of it and how he didn’t want to make his wife feel uncomfortable.