Riley is best known for portraying the role of Mandy Dingle in the long-running ITV soap opera Emmerdale between 1995 and 2001, and from 2019 onwards.
Riley's early roles included appearances as an extra in both Coronation Street and Brookside as well as a cast member in Butterfly Kiss which was directed by Michael Winterbottom.
[6] In 1999, Riley co-presented the six-part ITV series Birthrace 2000 with Davina McCall, which featured couples trying to have the first baby of the millennium.
[10] Riley portrayed Goody McEldrich in a 2011 episode of the UK children's show 'Young Dracula', and during 2012, she appeared as Nadia Hicks in the second series of ITV crime drama, Scott & Bailey.
[12] Later that year, Riley signed up as a contestant on the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnering with Robin Windsor.
[15] In August 2018, Riley starred in another BBC drama, Age Before Beauty, as Tina Reegan, a gothic tattoo artist.