Fresh from an emotional turn in the I’m A Celebrity jungle, Emmerdale legend Lisa Riley is stepping into the New Year lighter in body, clearer in mind — and without a single drop of champagne.
The 49-year-old has now shed an astonishing 12 stone, but she insists the biggest transformation didn’t happen on a scale. It happened the day she walked away from alcohol.
“I was numbing the pain”
Lisa has spoken candidly about how her relationship with drink spiralled after the devastating loss of her mum Cath in 2012. Grief, she says, pushed her to use wine as a shield against heartbreak.
“There were nights when the wine was the only thing that made me feel OK,” she once admitted. At her lowest, she was polishing off several bottles a night, convinced it was the only way to survive the sadness.
But one evening in a pub in Bury, surrounded by family and memories, she made a private promise to herself: this stops now.
A decade sober — and stronger than ever
That promise became a challenge. First, to make it to Christmas. Then another month. Then a year.
This August, Lisa quietly marked ten years sober — a milestone she says has given her a life she never imagined.
Friends reveal she now wakes up clear-headed, energised and confident, with none of the emotional fog that once clouded her days. “She doesn’t feel low anymore,” one insider said. “She finally feels like herself.”
Love, support and a new future
Behind the scenes, her fiancé Al has been her constant cheerleader. The American musician, whom she met through friends in 2014, has stood by her through every stage of recovery. Though he still enjoys the occasional drink, Lisa says it’s never been a problem.
“I don’t need alcohol to shine,” she has laughed. “I’ve always had a big personality.”
Their relationship, built on encouragement rather than pressure, has become the bedrock of her new life.
The jungle that healed her
Viewers saw a different side of Lisa during I’m A Celebrity. Campmates turned to her for comfort. She became the emotional centre of the group — and in the process, rediscovered her own self-belief.
She dropped weight, gained confidence and left the jungle feeling, in her words, “fit, healthy and proud.”
Now, insiders say she’s eyeing fresh projects beyond Emmerdale: more presenting, fashion collaborations and even hopes of stepping into a warm, people-focused TV role in the mould of a modern Cilla Black.
“I don’t need it anymore”
Looking back, Lisa doesn’t describe sobriety as sacrifice — she calls it freedom.
“I realised how brilliant my life is,” she said. “I don’t want alcohol. I don’t need it.”
And as the New Year arrives with no champagne in her glass, Lisa Riley is raising something far more powerful instead:
A decade of courage — and a brand-new beginning.
