Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley has reunited with her friend and former co-star Paula Lane.
Paula portrayed the role of Ella Forster in the soap until earlier this year. When she was introduced in 2024, Ella found a friend in Lisa’s character Mandy Dingle while at a gala.
When Ella made her way to the village, Mandy remained a close pal to her, but things sadly changed a few months ago, when Ella faced a major accusation from other residents.
After John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) found Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) on the floor in the pub, her loved ones learnt that she had been drugged.
Because this happened around the time Ella was expressing her jealousy over Chas and Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) being together, it didn’t take people long to accuse her of the crime.
Ella protested her innocence time and time again but because of her past, even friends Mandy and Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) were hesitant about believing her.
Ella’s exit in April saw her leave the Dales in the back of a police car. It was a heart-breaking end to her short time in the village, with many fans arguing that the character deserved better.
With Ella and Mandy’s friendship fractured, the same cannot be said for Paula and Lisa, who remain the best of mates away from the soap.
Recently, Lisa took to Instagram to share a sweet picture of her and Paula.
She wrote alongside: ‘Finished work at @emmerdale then straight to @leedschalounge to meet up with this beautiful lady for brunch @paula_laney.
‘We have had the most gorgeous afternoon catching up, nattering forever, laughing, like we had never been apart. Love you to absolute pieces babes-thanks for the best brunch-see you very soon for more of that please.’
In response, Paula wrote a loving messaging in the comments and said: ‘Love you beautiful. See you soon.’
A few weeks after Ella’s departure, we learnt more about John.
It was confirmed that he killed Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) last year, and was also responsible for drugging Chas, and framing Ella for it.
