Lucy Pargeter is best known for playing firecracker Chas Dingle on ITV soap Emmerdale.
The 44-year-old star has been a staple character on the Dales since 2002, tackling some hard-hitting storylines over the years.
She may have won a British Soap Award for Best Actress in 2019 but acting wasn’t the star’s first venture into the world of showbiz.
The Nottingham-born beauty was once part of girl band who opened up for a major pop group.
Daily Star have taken a look at Lucy’s life away from Emmerdale.
Secret pop career
Whilst most know Lucy from Emmerdale, the soap star had a previous brush with fame as a singer as a member of girl band Paperdolls.
The band found brief success and toured as a support act for teen heartthrobs Boyzone in the ’90s.
Though her career as a singer was short lived, they did release a debut single called Gonna Make You Blush back in 1998.
Speaking about the experience with the band, Lucy once told Woman magazine: “It was a laugh. We went from thinking we were just a few girls getting together and doing a few songs, to getting signed by a record label and touring.
“It was a great time.”
Rival soap role
Lucy had a string of acting success prior to landing the award-winning role that made her a household name.
The talented actress has appeared in Soldier Soldier, Dalziel and Pascoe, and played the role of Brenda in the film Anita and Me. Fans may also remember her as Helen Raven in TV soap Crossroads.
Despite being a very successful soap actress, Lucy has confessed to not watching soaps herself.
She previously told What’s On TV: “I don’t even watch Emmerdale, to be quite honest with you. I record it, but I don’t watch it.
“We work until eight, so when you get home it is half past eight. I don’t watch any soaps, how awful is that?!”
Reality TV star
(Image: PA)
Lucy has taken part in several other ventures outside of acting.
In January 2006, she appeared in the reality singing competition Soapstar Superstar and finished in third place. The star also took part in Stars in Their Eyes as Emma Bunton.
In 2007, Lucy and fellow Emmerdale actor Tom Lister won Best Couple for their portrayal of Chas and Carl at the TV Now magazine awards.
In 2011, she appeared on a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, with her Emmerdale co-star Danny Miller.
Lucy also finished third in the 13th series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2013.
More recently in December 2018 she appeared in a celebrity edition of The Chase, and won £5,000 for her selected charity, Safe at Last.
In June 2019, Lucy won the Best Actress award at The British Soap Awards. She was also nominated for Best Female Dramatic Performance and Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside Dominic Brunt.
Mums the word
(Image: Twitter)
The proud mother-of-three split from her long-term partner Rudi Coleano in 2019 after 12 years together.
Lucy shares daughters Lola, 15, and four-year-old twins Betsy and Missy with Rudi.
A statement was released shortly after, regarding her relationship, which read: “Lucy Pargeter has confirmed she has separated from her long-term partner, Rudi Coleano, and, while no longer together, their main priority is raising their three daughters.”
Lucy opened up to OK! Magazine after the twins birth sharing that she conceived all of her children through IVF.
Lucy told the magazine: “Having IVF was hard but we feel so lucky the girls have come along. I think it’s important to be honest about everything to do with how they got here.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV at 7pm
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
