Lisa Riley marked 14 years since her mother Cath died with a social media tribute on Wednesday, July 29. The Emmerdale actor used the post to set out how closely the loss still sits inside her daily life, even after receiving an MBE this year.
The anniversary matters because Cath died from cancer in 2012 at 57, and Riley tied that date to a tribute that was as specific as it was personal. She wrote: "14 years ago today, Mum, you were taken away from us. To be our guiding light. How I only wish I could just have you with me, let me hear you, let me laugh with you, smile at the same stupid things. Every single day of my life you were either by my side with me, or we spoke never less than twice a day."
Lisa Riley and Cath
Riley added that she turned 50 this year and said she did not have a photo of Cath beside her when she cut her birthday cake. She also said that when her letter arrived from the King saying she had been honoured on his Birthday list as an MBE, she could not tell her mother.
That detail gives the tribute its edge. The public milestone and the private loss arrived in the same year, but only one of them could be shared with Cath. Riley wrote, "This very year I turned 50, I don’t have a photo of you next to me when I cut my Birthday Cake-when I got my letter from the King that I’d been honoured on his Birthday list as a MBE, I couldn’t tell you. That is why it’s hard. You were, ARE, my everything. The years go by since you went to heaven, but the NEED for you by my side never ever ever ever goes away. LOVE YOU MUM."
Jakey in the photo
Riley closed by pointing to the photo she shared of Cath with Jakey, her first grandchild. She wrote: "Keep shining your special shine-I just love this photo of you when Jakey was born-the connection in your eyes-the love for your first grandchild - he’s REALLY doing you proud."
The post leaves the clearest open point around the MBE itself: Riley named the honour, but not the reason for it. What she did make plain is that the award sits alongside a loss she still measures in daily contact, down to the line about speaking to Cath never less than twice a day.
