Five Minutes With... Lisa Riley

AS plus size catalogue brand Simply Be makes their move to the high street, I was lucky enough to be there as they opened their doors to their first store in Liverpool.

At the launch I managed to grab five minutes with the lovely Lisa Riley (famous for her role as Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale), who looked gorgeous in a Grazia faux fur jacket from Simply Be...

How are you enjoying the store?

It’s great, I love to shop and there’s so much here. I had fun in the amazing changing rooms.

How would you describe your own personal style?

I don’t follow fashion; I dress to flatter my figure. I love clothes and I love to dress and feel sexy.

You were well loved as Mandy in Emmerdale, how do you think your style compares to hers?

God, miles apart.

Lisa Riley Opens The Liverpool Simply Be Store

So no head to toe leopard print on the horizon?

No, definitely not. Although having said that I have bought something in leopard print today, but it’s a lot classier than Mandy would go for.

You recently starred in ‘Calendar Girls’ on stage, which meant getting naked in front of a live audience. How did you find that?

It was a bit daunting but you just get into it. We had what we called the ‘de-robing’ which was when you got completely naked. In the end it just felt really natural and it made you let go and feel really confident.

Do you think that things are changing on the high street for ‘plus size’ women with the likes of Simply Be making their mark on the high street?

Oh yes, definitely for the better. It’s going in the right direction. It used to be a lot more difficult finding clothes on the high street. I always get asked by a lot of women where I get my clothes from.

Simply Be opened their Liverpool store recently. Click here to read about it.