EMMERDALE star Karen Blick has revealed her character Lydia Dingle is returning to the village after fears she had quit.

Lydia was last seen on-screen in late March 2025, though she had been off-screen since February 2025.

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She made a surprise return in an episode that aired in June, having been away to care for her ill mother.

But soap star Karen, 50, has now revealed that she’s returning with an explosive new storyline.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Karen said: “It has [been nice to not be in the Dingle drama too much this year], Lydia’s had a busy three years or so, probably since Covid actually.”

Karen kept tight-lipped but said viewers are in for a treat ahead of a very unexpected storyline.

“It’s been a nice quiet year, however she’s got a lovely surprise coming up that’s tinged with an awful lot of drama,” she added.

It comes after Karen’s co-star Lisa Riley revealed the Christmas episode will be explosive after dropping a huge clue.

Lisa, who plays Mandy Dingle on the ITV soap, said she is currently filming a “never before seen storyline” for the festive period

The actress, 49, revealed that her on-screen father-in-law Bear will return after being missing for months.

Viewers saw him experience a series of concerning mood swings and angry outbursts just before he left the village.

Lisa has now revealed that director Vicky Thomas, who worked on the big limo ice crash last year, is directing this year’s Christmas episode – hinting it will be just as dramatic if they’ve enlisted her.

“Vicky Thomas who directed by big ice crash, is directing Christmas Day, so that speaks for itself,” Lisa told us at the Inside Soap Awards.

The limo car crash resulted in a number of Emmerdale favourites being killed off, including Suzy Merton, Leyla Harding, and Amy Wyatt.

Among the chaos, Lisa said she will be at the centre of a new storyline with Bear and Paddy.

After Bear demonstrated erratic behaviour, Paddy was convinced he was suffering from depression – but Lisa has confirmed that it was a “curveball” thrown in by bosses.

Lisa told us: “You’re going to find out. It’s going to straggle over the whole of Christmas and into the New Year and it’s a storyline that’s never been done before.

“When we got the script, we were told months ago, it’s something really exciting.

“That’s so good about soaps, we’ve planned loads of things to knock you off kilter.

“We tackled Paddy’s suicide before and that probed people to liken it to what’s happened to Bear. Is that the truth? It might be a complete curveball.

“That’s why we’re lucky with our writers, they’re dropping stuff on purpose to knock you off kilter.”

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