Emmerdale stalwart Lucy Pargeter candidly confessed she “didn’t expect to still be here” after an impressive tenure spanning more than 20 years on the beloved soap.

Speaking on the Off Script… Coronation Street and Emmerdale podcast with hosts Kelvin and Liz Fletcher, the actress who has brought Chas Dingle to life for 23 years, reflected on her time in the Dales.

Kelvin remarked on Lucy’s well-known dedication to her craft. Responding, she attributed it to her passion for her work and shared her gratitude for how the job has enriched her life.

Lucy was open about being “lucky” to have her role, humorously recounting initially signing up to be a “stripping nun” and acknowledged the challenges along the way, yet she regards this ongoing gig as an honour, reports Leicestershire Live.

She elaborated: “Because I love my job and I’m lucky to have my job and every day, I go into work, I know I’m lucky to still be making this my job, 23 years later after I first signed up to be a stripping nun, you know what I mean?”

Commenting on her unexpected longevity on the show, Lucy appreciated how it has provided for her family: “I didn’t expect to still be here and for my kids to have got a beautiful place to live, be surrounded by my mates, be challenged every single day, even you know…there is not a day that I go in (and) all I say is, ‘Would you like a pint?’”

She concluded with heartfelt reverence for her role: “It’s a privilege. I’m so blessed to have that job and I will never ever take it for granted because it can be taken away from you at any point.”

Lucy, who first graced our screens in the beloved soap back in 2002, recently revealed her enthusiasm for performing her own stunts, following a dramatic plot where her character Chas Dingle faced a harrowing collapse at the Woolpack.

In the gripping storyline, viewers watched with bated breath as Chas was rushed to hospital after collapsing, an event that unfolded while she was recovering from injuries sustained in a limousine crash. This tragic accident claimed the lives of Suzy Merton, Leyla Harding, and Amy Wyatt.

Miraculously, Chas pulled through, but she’s been battling with back pain ever since, relying on p.a.i.n.k.i.l.l.e.r.s to get by. Whispers around the village suggest that Ella Forster, portrayed by Paula Lane, might have meddled with Chas’s medication.

During an interview on the same podcast, Lucy opened up about her passion for action-packed scenes, recounting how she “did a really good job”.

She said: “Chas has a little incident, she’s got a bad back from the limo, fell through a big hole in the ice, that was fun at 3am. She did her back in, she’s on p.a.i.n.k.i.l.l.e.r.s, she feels a bit woozy, and she knocks herself out. I love a stunt by the way. I think I did a really good job.”