Lydia Dingle is one part of the famous Emmerdale Dingle family, and has been played by actress Karen Blick since 2016, although it hasn’t been her only role on the soap in recent years.
Following Lydia’s marriage to Sam Dingle in 2020, The Mirror asked Karen what the future had in store for Lydia and whether she will become the matriarch of the Dingle family, with Karen saying: “I would love to, there are no guarantees with this job, we all know that you never know when your time is up.”
She added: “It is a dream job so yes, I’m happy to stay for as long as viewers are happy to have Lydia.”
Outside of the ITV dales, Lydia actress Karen has had an equally interesting life, which included a bargain wedding and showing off a glamorous transformation on Instagram.
Life before Emmerdale and secret soap role
Born October 25, 1974, Karen had her first role as a teacher in the 2006 TV series No Angels, but many viewers might not have known that she has appeared in Emmerdale before.
In 2006, Karen also had a role in the soap as a nurse.
From there, she starred as Sandra in TV series Nomads in 2015, before stepping into the dales as permanent Emmerdale character Lydia Dingle in 2016.
She also took part in the Emmerdale vs Coronation Street quiz in 2020, as well as making various appearances as herself on ITV daytime talk shows Loose Women and Lorraine.
Groupon wedding
(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale fans will fondly remember Lydia’s wedding to Sam Dingle last year, which included a famous Dingle tradition of drinking ale from a wellie at the wedding reception.
In real life, Karen Blick has been married to her husband Simon since 2011.
The couple got married in a low key ceremony, with Karen revealing to The Sun that she and Simon spent less than £2,000 on their wedding after securing a deal through discount site Groupon.
Their wedding included a three course meal for over 100 guests and a nighttime party to round off the day in style – all for a bargain price.
She said: “We had a Dingle element to ours.
“We had been together for years and so we didn’t want to spend much.”
Family life
(Image: ITV)
Since marrying husband Simon in 2011, the couple have gone on to have two children together, called Ruby and Oliver.
Karen even appeared on ITV with her daughter Ruby on Big Star’s Little Star, during series five of the popular programme.
In 2020, Karen also thanked the NHS on Twitter, after her son Oliver was rushed to hospital following an accident on his scooter.
She wrote in her social media post: “Big thank you to fab staff at @AiredaleNHSFT for looking after our youngest after he broke his leg falling off his scooter.”
Karen also joked that her son was “charging everyone £1 to sign” his leg cast, with Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle in the soap, commenting: “Oh no! Bless him. Hope he’s ok. What a little businessman though!”
Glam transformation
(Image: Karen Blick/Instagram)
Viewers are used to seeing Lydia Dingle with her hair tied back and in her farming attire, but earlier in November, Karen Blick showed off her glamorous off-screen transformation away from Emmerdale.
She posted a photo of her new hairstyle on Instagram, complete with a fringe, long layers and shoulder length hair that flicked outwards at the ends, framing her glowing skin and featuring the star posing with a beautiful smile.
The photo sent fans wild, with one saying: “What a lovely smile. Straight from the soul.”
Another added: “So pretty,” while another said: “It looks fab Karen.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
