Emmerdale 's Lisa Riley has told how she went back to filming the ITV show too soon after the grief of losing her fiancé Al's mother to cancer.
The soap star - who plays Mandy Dingle, a role she originated in 1995 - said that the tragedy brought back tough memories of her own mum Cathy's death in 2012.
Al's mum, known affectionately as "Nana" to Lisa, died aged 79. The Emmerdale star, 46, went back to work before the funeral and has admitted it was the wrong thing to do.
She commented: "It has been a treacherous time and it's still very raw in the family. In hindsight, when Nana passed I shouldn't have gone back to work so quickly.
"But what I wanted to do was carry on regardless, and I had to really dig deep to shoot the scenes. I now realise it was the wrong thing to do before the funeral."
Lisa added: "I have spoken openly before about how my parents' mums both died young and how I always called Al's mum, Nana.
"She sadly lost her battle with cancer and it's been horrible. The worst thing for me is when you see someone at the end in palliative care.
"It was identical to my own mum and it brought all those memories back. Al's mum was like a second mum to me and we were all incredibly close."
But Lisa told how the cast and crew of Emmerdale, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in October, supported her.
She explained recently about her colleagues: "What it does continue to make me realise, though, is just how incredible they all are. They have been beyond amazing."
"I can't even put into words how much their love and support has meant to me, and when they mentioned me at the Soap Awards, I was so touched," the soap star added.
Lisa and Al have been together since 2014 and she revealed losing Nana had made them even closer. Speaking to Woman's Weekly magazine, she added: "Tragedy does pull people together. I am so glad we’ve got each other."
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