Gemma Atkinson has revealed she turned down several offers to return to soap operas, including Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, due to the demanding schedule and her responsibilities as a mother of two.
Gemma's Soap Career and Recent Offers
The actress, best known for playing Lisa Hunter on Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2005 and Carly Hope on Emmerdale from 2015 to 2017, said she was approached multiple times by Hollyoaks but declined. She also appeared in The Bill and Waterloo Road before joining Emmerdale, where her storylines included the death of her infant son Billy from cot death and a relationship with Marlon Dingle.
Why She Turned Down Returns
Speaking on her podcast Lost in Translation with partner Gorka Márquez, Atkinson explained: 'Hollyoaks kindly asked me back a few times and I love Hollyoaks. The thing with soaps, I love them, but you have to be on call for 24/7 unless you specifically book time off. You could have a random Thursday off in the schedule but they'll ring and say we're planning to do exterior scenes but it's chucking it down and we've changed it. We're interior now, you're in.'
Atkinson, who has daughter Mia (born 2019) and son Thiago (born July 2023), added: 'With kids and juggling that, it would be too stressful and I wouldn't want to.'
Open to Other Acting Roles
Despite ruling out soap returns, Atkinson said she would consider a one-off drama with a fixed schedule: 'If it was like a one-off drama, whereby they said you start the 10th of May you finish the 10th of June, 100% because there's a start and end and I would love it.'
Since leaving Emmerdale, Atkinson participated in Strictly Come Dancing in 2017 and starred in the reality show Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens.
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
