Emmerdale actress Jane Cox has said it is refreshing playing Lisa Dingle, because she can be as unglamorous as she likes. The 58-year-old has portrayed the farmer's wife for 15 years and is glad she doesn't have to pretty herself up in front of the cameras. "I deliberately try to let everything hang out, because there are loads of women out there like Lisa who aren't particularly glamorous," she told the Daily Mirror. "I was told that Lisa was a big lady and a pig farmer and most comfortable in Wellington boots. But I don't mind that at all. There's a terrible pressure on women to conform to a kind of norm that doesn't actually exist. A lot of women are dying their hair, having boob jobs and trying to look stick thin because they feel that they have to." Inspired by her character, who was raped at the factory where she works, Jane has even stopped colouring her hair and let it go naturally grey. "I've decided to let my hair go grey, partly because I'm fed up colouring it anyway, but I think this is the time to do it, because of what happened to Lisa," she continued. "I also think it's good to be a grey-haired woman on television as a lot of women in their 50s do have grey or white hair." Jane added: "My longevity in the business is to do with me being a character actor; I don't rely on being pretty or slim to get parts."
