Gemma Atkinson turned down Emmerdale return due to ‘gruelling hours’ before Hollyoaks comeback
13.03.2022 - 11:13
/ ok.co.uk
Actress Gemma Atkinson is a woman who likes to keep busy. She’s mum to Mia, two, has a daily drivetime show on Hits Radio and is writing her second book – all while planning her wedding to 31-year-old fiancé Gorka Márquez, whom she met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. Gemma, 37, is also reprising the role that propelled her to fame in 2001 – Lisa Hunter in the soap Hollyoaks.
She also played Carly Hope in Emmerdale. Gemma returns to the screen this week, so we sat down with her to discover what we can expect… Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter. Hi Gemma, you are back on Hollyoaks as Lisa Hunter this week.
Why now? Yeah, I started when I was 15 and I’m 37 now, so it’s been a long time.To be honest, it’s come around quite a few times, but I’ve always had lots of other commitments. I didn’t want to turn my back on Hollyoaks. It’s because of it I’ve been so busy elsewhere.
I didn’t want it to ever come across as though, “I’m far too busy for that now.” It was just a case of wherever I could squeeze it in, I would absolutely love to go back. It felt like I’d never been away. Can you give us any hints about what Lisa’s going to be doing? She has always been a very sweet girl with a troubled past.
With her self-harm issues, we were adamant we didn’t want to just come back and not reference that, because it’s obviously such an important subject. But there is something up Lisa’s sleeve. She shows up in Zara’s life, which seemingly should be a happy reunion, but there are some underlying issues there, and it all comes to light in those episodes.