Emmerdale's Dominic Brunt heartbroken by Lisa Riley I'm A Celebrity moment

In one of the most poignant moments of the series, Lisa Riley comforted Jack Osbourne as he discussed his father Ozzy's death. Lisa also opened up about her own grief over losing her mother, Cath, leading to a touching moment of connection between the two campmates.

Dominic Brunt, who played Lisa's on-screen husband in Emmerdale, recognised this empathetic side of Lisa. "I thought the first time when she sat with Jack was a real look into the real Lisa," he says.

"She spots things that other people don't and is really empathetic. As soon as she sat down with him, I thought, 'Oh, this is really going to be good.' "You know, two people that have suffered quite greatly in their lives. I don't think Lisa will ever get used to the loss of her mum."

Before entering the jungle, Lisa revealed that she was participating in the show to honour her mother, who passed away from cancer in 2012. She said: "I can't help feel that maybe it is my mum in heaven giving me a message to do the show. She would be saying: 'Go on, knock them dead and just have a laugh.'"

Soap star Dominic Brunt, who portrays Paddy Kirk opposite Mandy Dingle, was the only person besides her partner whom Lisa informed about her jungle plans. Lisa confided in him several months before the line-up was announced.

"I thought, right, if you're telling me, I'm not even going to tell my wife," he says. "I don't keep any secrets from my wife, so it was very strange. But it was great. It was really exciting as well."

Lisa initially telephoned him while at work to gauge his reaction to entering the jungle, before revealing she had actually already signed up, reports TheMirror.

"She called me on set one day," he recalls. "She said that she'd been asked to do the jungle, and she wasn't sure, what did I think? And I was going, you'd be brilliant. You should do it. And then later she said, I'm actually doing it. I was really flattered that she told me.

"We have a very, very close relationship, and we have since 1997, but I was really flattered by the fact that it's only me and her fella, who knew, and to be trusted like that."

He was also acutely conscious of how rapidly such a secret could circulate around a bustling soap set.

"Obviously, we work in a place full of actors, and there are very few secrets there. I just thought, I better keep it to myself," he laughs.

Prior to her departure, Lisa warned she might "go full Mandy Dingle" if exhaustion and hunger took their toll. Considering the limited rations and rest in camp, that seemed entirely plausible.

However, Dominic insists audiences shouldn't anticipate seeing Mandy storming through the jungle each evening. "I've very rarely seen that side of her, I have to say," he reveals. "She's not a moody person. She's a very upbeat person, and I think even when she's tired, that's the only time that you'll really see her quite quiet."

Dominic, who has portrayed Paddy since 1997, first married Mandy on screen back in 1999. After years apart, the pair finally said 'I do' again in a 2024 storyline. From his sofa, Dominic expresses his delight at watching Lisa gradually adapt to jungle life. He knew Lisa would impress viewers because she was a "force of nature."

He added: "I think she's getting better and better and better. She's a very, very honest person, and she's always herself, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. And I could see she wasn't pretending to be anybody else but herself, and she wasn't prepared to show off or start dancing on the first day. She sat there and waited and listened."

Viewers have also caught glimpses of Lisa's humour, from confessing she wet herself after a trial to declaring she fancied Ant. "Well, we get that all day, every day," he chuckles. "She's like that always."

What he truly wants audiences to recognise is the considerate woman he has collaborated with for numerous years.

"Well, for Lisa, she's a very genuine soul who listens more than she talks, and she cares for people," he says. "She's incredibly funny, and she's selfless and kind.

"She's one of the kindest people I've ever met. And whether that's material or spiritual, hopefully that's kind of seeping out now that people are seeing that."

Regarding whether he might join her in the jungle himself, his position is unambiguous. "I wouldn't really do anything like that. I do the odd quiz show when they say it's like a charity quiz show, and do all that, like general knowledge stuff.

"I think it's brilliant that Lisa does it, but she's built for that. But I just can't see myself doing that. I haven't got that in me. I think I'd be the one that sits in the corner very quietly, doesn't get involved, is very shy, very, very quiet, and I think I'd get voted off first."

When questioned about Lisa's prospects of claiming the crown, he believes she stands a genuine opportunity. "Oh, you never know," he says. "It does feel like Aitch and Angry Ginge are absolutely to the fore, and people love them but you never know. I hope so....I'm voting for her, the whole building is voting for her."

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! airs weekdays at 9pm on ITV and ITVX