Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) finally accepts that she needs help in Emmerdale after developing an eating disorder. Following her rejection by Ross Barton (Michael Parr), Gabby became interested in healthy foods and drinks, but her need for control has led to a hyper-fixation on what she consumes. She has also decided she should not take medication, influenced by social media videos spreading false information about medicine and pharmaceutical companies, believing painkillers introduce harmful toxins to her body.
Manpreet Raises Concerns
Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) is the only person to notice what is happening with Gabby. When Gabby visited the surgery complaining her cough was not improving, her comments about medication made Manpreet suspicious. After reviewing Gabby's social media algorithm and concerning test results, Manpreet concluded Gabby has orthorexia.
Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) becomes troubled when Manpreet updates her about Gabby's recent social media posts. Laurel goes to find her, unaware Gabby is on the floor behind the counter at The Hide suffering a panic attack. Laurel finds Gabby and tries to get her to open up, but Gabby collapses, prompting Laurel to call an ambulance.
Gabby Opens Up
At the hospital, Gabby gives Manpreet permission to tell Laurel about her orthorexia, and she appears ready to accept help. Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) quickly learns about Gabby and apologises for not spotting the signs earlier.
It is also revealed that Dotty, Laurel's young daughter, has become interested in Gabby's social media posts. Dotty is unaware she is observing a serious psychological struggle, leaving her vulnerable to copying the same harmful behaviours.
Star Discusses Storyline
Rosie Bentham discussed the storyline, saying: 'This is thing with any eating disorder. Anorexia, bulimia, and everything. With orthorexia, it's all about control and obsession with what you think your life is going to look like when it's perfect. That starts with what you are fuelling you're body with.'
She added: 'The social media algorithm sucks you in, doesn't it? Because I am very interested in the gym and being healthy, I noticed that my algorithm was getting so extreme, and the pressure put on young people especially.'
Bentham continued: 'I was really interested in why we are scrolling down our social media page and listening to a random person with probably no qualifications in nutrition, and they're walking down a supermarket aisle and telling us that if you eat this, this is going to happen and this chemical means this.'
She said: 'So then I looked into it a bit. I also know of people who might restrict themselves from social situations due to restrictive behaviours on what they can eat or what they should be consuming. I connected the dots.'
Bentham noted: 'There's such a rise in this optimisation culture where people want to be the best version of themselves. I can talk about it for ages. It's just so interesting. The misconception, which I don't want people to get from this story, that orthorexia is not just eating healthily and when that gets bad. It's the psychological, emotional side that comes with it.'
