BACK IN THE DALES
Emmerdale fans shocked as show star is unrecognisable in FIRST role in the soap – 19 years ago
She was involved in a harrowing storyline
EMMERDALE viewers have been left shocked after spotting a star on the soap nearly two decades ago - in a different role.
Actress Karen Blick, 50, has been a regular in the Dales since she joined full time as Lydia back in 2016.
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But eagle-eye fans have been revisiting classic episodes and noticed Lydia bore a striking resemblance to another character who appeared in 2006.
Fans spotted she first appeared in the ITV series 19 years ago as an abortion nurse.
And her little-known first role proves she was destined for the Dales long before she officially became a Dingle.
Karen had a brief stint on the ITV soap, appearing in a one-off role in 2006, and fans were gobsmacked by th
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Sharing one of her scenes on Reddit, a fan said: "I know it was nearly 19 years ago but she really does look different with that hair colour!"
Another said: ";Whoa!!!! The blond hair!!!!"
And another said: "It's our Lydia! Poor Alice has only just died in Classic Emmerdale and here's his future wife already! (She's just an abortion nurse here, her character has no name)"
After leaving Emmerdale the first time around, Karen almost quit acting to become a teacher.
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She later found her dream role back on Emmerdale, but it hasn’t always been easy.
Lydia joined the Dingle family after finding love with Sam who was previously married to Alice, before her death from a morphine overdose.
Lydia Dingle takes drastic action to save Amelia Spencer from Tom King’s abuse in Emmerdale
She was later involved in a harrowing rape storyline in 2023.
The fan favourite portrayed by Karen was sexually assaulted by her childhood sweetheart Craig Reed (Ben Addis) who manipulated her into believing he had nothing but good intentions for her and her family.
Karen revealed she ended up turning to crystals to keep her grounded while filming.
“I’ve got a lovely friend who’s a crystal healing therapist, and she contacted me a couple of weeks before we started filming and said, ‘Can I help you? Can I help you look after your energy?’” Karen explained at a press event.
Karen added: “I’m really open-minded about things like this and I thought, ‘Well it can’t hurt, can it? I’ll give it a go.’
“She gave me some crystals to kind of carry around with me to keep in my dressing room. I found it was a useful ritual to absorb some of the negative energy and some of the thoughts, feelings, emotions around this story.”
Karen also explained that she practises other daily rituals like yoga, and has even tried hypnotherapy to make sure she was in “a good, strong, physical, psychological place in order to tackle this story.”
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