In glam photos from 50 years ago, the Emmerdale star appears absolutely unrecognizably.

From 1999 until her recent departure in 2022, Elizabeth Estensen, an Emmerdale actress, played Diane Sugden on the ITV serial opera.

When she started playing Diane Sugden in Emmerdale, actress Elizabeth Estensen gained notoriety and quickly became one of the cast’s most cherished characters.

She had a role as Pam Middleton on the ITV rival soap Coronation Street from 1996 to 1998 before joining Emmerdale.

Old photos of the actress show her with long brown hair that was curled and flowing down a floral dress while holding a white blazer.

She accessorized the outfits with her famed smile, a silver necklace, a bracelet, and large hoop earrings.

Elizabeth acted in Last Summer of Wine (1997), A Touch of Frost as Susan Mackintosh (1995), and Casualty as Madeline Howard (1993) before joining the cast of Emmerdale.

On November 23, 1999, Elizabeth made her debut in Emmerdale. Over the years, she has been a part of some incredible storylines.

Bernice Blackstock, who is played by Samantha Giles, is the daughter of Diane and Rodney Blackstock (played by Patrick Mower).

Paul Lambert (Matthew Bose), his son, was born as a result of Rodney’s romance with Val Lambert (Charlie Hardwick) during the course of their marriage.

After Rodney moved out, Diane managed the B&B for 15 years before Bernice took over the bar and Diane finally moved in with her.

Rodney returned to Diane and Bernice’s lives a few years later, with his daughter forgiving him but Diane being a little less sure.

They ended up spending the night together because there was still a spark between them, but Diane made the decision to break things up.

After a string of failed romances, Diane was shocked to learn that she had colon cancer and ultimately decided to travel to Scarborough with Rodney in order to process the information.

After receiving the all-clear in the new year, Diane started making plans for her wedding to Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby).

She was hurt in the King’s River Showhome explosion in 2006, but she recovered fully. She then fell in love with Billy Hopwood (David Crellin), starting an intimate relationship.

When Jack passes away in February 2009, Diane is heartbroken. She finds solace in a letter he wrote to her just before he died, expressing his love for her.

Diane, who had a difficult time letting go of her ex, fell in love with Charlie Haynes (George Costigan), but she soon realized that everything had been a deception, leaving her heartbroken once more.

Soon after, Diane decides she wants out of the Woolpack and decides to acquire a stake from Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), with whom she develops a connection.

Despite not getting along well with her sister Val, she was horrified and plagued by guilt when she was killed by a sizable piece of hanging glass after a chopper crashed into the hamlet.

A dispute between the Sugdens and Dingles developed after Diana had a mental breakdown and was then fatally stabbed in the stomach by Chas.

After fully recovering, she soon discovered that her cancer had come back and through another arduous round of chemotherapy and treatment.

However, she made the decision to enjoy the rest of her life and once more listed her share of the bar for sale.

In April 2016, Diane sold her half of the pub to Charity Dingle and purchased her half of the local B&B, The Grange. In October 2021, Diane decided to leave the village and move to Portugal, however, she briefly returned to the village in October 2022 to say goodbye to her terminally ill friend Faith Dingle (Fleur Keith) who later passed away.