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Emmerdale favourite Lisa Riley has received an outpouring of support from fans following a heartwarming "baby" announcement. The actress rose to prominence after joining the ITV soap in 1995 as Mandy Dingle - and quickly became a viewer favourite. Throughout her time on the show, Mandy has featured in numerous major storylines: from her cherished romance with Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) to money troubles that saw her become a financial dominatrix online. Off-screen, Lisa has been in a relationship with American partner Al for more than a decade. The couple initially met at a Strictly Come Dancing tour event in 2014 and became engaged four years later. Recently, Lisa posted a touching tribute to her "baby" Al. On her Instagram account, the soap favourite shared multiple romantic photographs of herself and her musician partner celebrating his birthday, reports the Daily Star . Alongside selfies of the pair, Lisa also revealed Al's spectacular travel-themed cake. In the caption Lisa penned: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BABY, me and all the family Al are wishing you all the love and laughter in the world on your special day-glad we had the most gorgeous day yesterday celebrating. Today is all about you." Lisa's followers flooded the comments section with birthday messages for her partner. One person penned: "Happy birthday Al, have a great day! Hope Lisa is spoiling you." Another commented: "Happy birthday to your man hope he has a great day. A third responded: "Happy birthday photo number 1 is beautiful of you both. " Despite their lengthy engagement, Lisa has previously explained why she and Al have decided against tying the knot. She said: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it... We're very happy as we are and while I love wearing the beautiful ring Al gave me, I've never been the kind of girl who longs for a big, flouncy day with a horse and carriage. "That kind of thing gives me the ick, to be honest. I'm never going to change my name, so really, what would be the difference? We call each other husband and wife, and have been together for nine years." Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm
