Lisa Riley faced her fears ahead of taking part in I’m A Celebrity as she held two rats as part of a challenge she set herself while still filming for Emmerdale.
The actress, who plays Mandy Dingle, was visibly shaking in a clip shared on her social media account, which saw her arrive on set of the ITV soap to ‘touch some rats for the first time’.
The 49-year-old fought tears as she asked for advice before taking hold of the rat, which subsequently climbs up onto her shoulder.
After allowing the rat to sit there for a while, she breaks down in tears, chuffed to have accomplished her goal.
But brave Lisa didn’t stop there, with a following scene showing her with two rats on her shoulder!
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‘You’ve got to think that it’s not what it is’, she said of the experience, closing her eyes. ‘Does that make sense? I’m thinking it’s like a toy is on my shoulder.’
Lisa Riley lisajaneriley 11h Jungle prep 101: start with Rhi Rhi?s adorable rats ? So? is Lisa ready for the jungle? Catch her on Sunday 9pm @imacelebrity @itv
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As the video concludes, Lisa seems much more happier – and ready to take part in the upcoming series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
It was confirmed earlier this week that the Emmerdale legend would be entering the jungle.
‘It’s going to be ace!,’ she said. ‘I will be there for everyone but I don’t suffer fools gladly. My inner Mandy Dingle will come out if someone is mean!’
Lisa was asked several times to take part in I’m A Celeb but ultimately felt that with her approaching of 50 – plus the 25th anniversary of playing Mandy, and her achievement of being sober for 10 years – that she was ready for a new challenge.
She told us: ‘I lost my best friend not so long ago and mum got diagnosed at the age of 48 (with breast cancer), I’m 49.
‘Nothing can be as bad as that in life and I have got to see if I can do it. Every day is a blessing and I want to really enjoy everything.’
Lisa is thought to have filmed her final Emmerdale scenes before her departure for the jungle.
‘Lisa filmed her scenes last week, Mandy goes to visit friends and will be back before you know it,’ a source added to The Sun.
‘She’ll be back filming full throttle once she’s back from her trip down under too. Fans won’t have long to wait for her return once the scenes air next year.’