Lisa Riley says she doesn’t care if trolls call her ‘gaunt’ after losing 11 stone
The actress stars in new drama that brings the horrific Rochdale child-abuse scandal to light
LISA Riley has admitted she's not bothered by trolls taunting her over her incredible 12 stone weight loss.
Since she overhauled her diet and lifestyle, Lisa, who was previously targeted by bullies for being overweight, has revealed she now faces cruel comments about looking too thin.
She explained: “Losing weight opens doors to different roles.
“I would never have been able to play a copper before, for example, because coppers aren’t overweight.
“After losing my mum and nearly losing my father, say what you want about me.
“It doesn’t bother me at all. If four people out of thousands say: ‘Oh, you look gaunt,’ I’m going to go with the majority. Those four might have one tooth and are hidden away in a dark room. I’ll leave them there. I’ve never felt better in my life.”
Lisa is currently starring in BBC1 drama Three Girls, which tells the story of children groomed by a network of men.
The show's harrowing subject matter – the Rochdale sex-abuse scandal between 2008 and 2012 – convinced the actress to join the cast.
“I got the scripts and there was no doubt in my mind, I jumped at the chance,” explains Lisa.
“From an actor’s point of view, it’s phenomenal. It’s a story you want to portray – not only do I want to read it, I want to watch it. I want to see the outcome and I want to see justice done.”
How does she counter arguments that it’s making entertainment from people’s misery?
“It’s not entertainment, it’s reality,” Lisa, 40, retorts instantly. “It’s not out of their ‘misery’, it’s fact. It’s their life. We open the paper or turn on the news, it’s there. This is what goes on, every day.”
Lisa plays Lorna Bowen, the mother of teenagers Amber and Ruby, who – along with other underage girls – were groomed by a gang of men in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, before being subjected to years of sex trafficking and exploitation. Similar cases are now known to have taken place nationwide.
While Lorna, Amber and Ruby are not the actual names of people involved, the characters are based on real victims, all of whom were involved in the making of the three-part series.
“We met them all,” Lisa explains.
“The real Lorna is adorable. She’s very vulnerable and childlike, and that was something I wanted to portray. She isn’t a bad mum – she’s a survivor; she’s over the moon with what I’ve done. I had to portray someone who’s survived what we couldn’t for one millisecond comprehend.
“As actors, we didn’t want to do a carbon copy of them – it was our job to tell their story to the best of our ability. Every word we speak is the truth of what went on.”
It was local NHS worker Sara Rowbotham (Maxine Peake) and detective Margaret Oliver (Lesley Sharp) who eventually, after many attempts, got the cases to trial. Both women were also consulted throughout the production.
“Margaret is phenomenal,” smiles Lisa. “We’ve become really good friends. She’s a force to be reckoned with. This is a powerful story for women. We have got a voice and we can be heard. Don’t stop until something is done.”
The story is also close to Lisa’s heart, as she grew up in the nearby town of Bury.
“I was 11 miles away. Of my career to date, this is the one my family are desperate to watch,” she says. “Not only because I’m in it, it’s the fact that we were kind of living it.”
Lisa – who played Emmerdale’s Mandy Dingle for six years, appeared on 2012’s Strictly Come Dancing and is a regular on Loose Women – is almost unrecognisable as downtrodden Lorna.
“That’s what we wanted,” she says. “I think it’ll surprise people. I can’t bear vanity when
I watch things, I’m a stickler for detail. I don’t like it as a viewer when I go: ‘Oh, it’s her again.’”
NEW! Three Girls, Tuesday to Thursday, 9pm, BBC1
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