EMMERDALE may have come to a halt due to coronavirus but before they go, viewers will get a moment of joy tomorrow night.
Lydia Hart will marry Sam — and join the soap’s legendary Dingle family in a ceremony that includes drinking beer from a welly in true Yorkshire style.
And Karen Blick, who plays Lydia, says her own wedding to hubby Simon in 2011 was a similarly frugal affair.
The actress, who has been on the ITV show since 2016, managed to get a bargain deal through discount site Groupon and paid less than two grand for her big day, including a three-course dinner for 100 guests and a knees-up in the evening.
In an exclusive chat, she said: “We had a Dingle element to ours.
“We had been together for years and so we didn’t want to spend much.”
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Tomorrow night, in true soap style, fans can expect a few last-minute hitches before the ceremony.
And in true Dingle family tradition, the bride is later asked to drink from the boot at the pub reception afterwards.
Karen said: “It was fun. We practised first and then we did the take for real. It is filled with non-alcoholic beer.
“The Dingles are such an iconic family in Emmerdale and even if you don’t watch the show, everyone knows who the Dingles are. They have gone through everything.”
Including a welly-load of ale . . .
Amanda has grey matter
SHE’S known for daring outfits and lockdown clearly has not dulled Amanda Holden’s dress sense.
The Heart Breakfast host, who arrived for work in a floral dress and lilac coat, told listeners she’s been enjoying extra time with her family and is now a “better mother”.
And said her husband thinks she is now a “better wife”.
But it looks like lockdown may be taking its toll on her hair.
Amanda jokingly asked celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas for advice on grey hair, saying: “I’m asking for a friend . . .”
Baker’s big move at Beeb
MATT Baker hasn’t had to go far to bag his first job since leaving The One Show as he has signed up to yet another BBC1 gig.
He will be hosting the broadcaster’s lockdown-themed The Big Night In on April 23, which will raise money for Children In Need and Comic Relief.
Matt said: “Through the power of TV together with Comic Relief we’ll support, give thanks and acknowledge how we’re making the best of the situation we find ourselves in. It’s my honour to host The Big Night In.”
For those wanting to take part in the event, the Strictly professionals are teaching a dance routine on The One Show so viewers can enter themselves into a competition to perform it live on the fundraising show.
Matt will host alongside Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness and Lenny Henry and they will be joined by other celeb guests.
Matt has swapped a studio sofa for his own, not bad going.
Martin on grim reality
ACTOR Martin Compston has voiced his fears that reality TV stars aren’t protected enough.
He said: “You’re churning all these kids out and you make them super-famous for six months and then they get dropped.
“It must be a head wrecker for some of them to go, ‘I was on every TV show and everybody was loving me and now I’m just forgotten about,’ and you can see how some go off the rails.
“I don’t think there’s enough protection for them.”
His comments follow the deaths of previous Love Islanders Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon, who both took their own lives.
Martin, who appeared in BBC drama The Nest, told the Overrated Everything podcast: “I can see how somebody could really do something unfortunate when you’re under that sort of pressure.”
Waltzing to the jungle
DAYS after HOAR revealed AJ Pritchard was in talks to appear on I’m A Celebrity, the star says he would be a hoot on the show.
He left Strictly last month to pursue a presenting career with his brother, Love Island star Curtis.
When probed about the jungle project, AJ told Steph McGoven on her Channel 4 show: “I’ve just cleaned out the loft.
“The amount of spiders up there, I was screaming. So if that did happen, it would be hilarious.”
Curtis said he’d love to see AJ do a creepy Bushtucker Trial. I imagine the bosses on Strictly might agree.
