Gemma Atkinson has definitively ruled out a return to Emmerdale, citing the unpredictable filming schedule as incompatible with her responsibilities as a mother of two. The actress, best known for playing Carly Hope on the ITV soap from 2015 to 2017, revealed she has been approached multiple times but will not go back.
Gemma's Soap Career and Family Life
Atkinson first gained fame as Lisa Hunter on Channel 4's Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2005, with a brief return in 2022. She also appeared in The Bill and Waterloo Road before joining Emmerdale as Carly Hope. During her tenure, she tackled major storylines including the sudden infant death of her character's son Billy and a tumultuous relationship with Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock).
Since leaving the soap in 2017, Atkinson has been busy with other projects: competing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017 and starring in the reality series Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens with her partner Gorka Márquez. She is also a mother to daughter Mia (born 2019) and son Thiago (born July 2023).
Why She Won't Return to Soaps
During a recent episode of her podcast Lost in Translation, co-hosted with Márquez, a listener asked if she would ever return to acting in soaps. Márquez posed the question: “Would Gemma go back to acting in soaps or acting in general?”
Atkinson responded: “I would. I wouldn't be able to do soaps again. Hollyoaks kindly asked me back a few times and I love Hollyoaks.” She explained: “The thing with soaps, I love them, but you have to be on call for 24/7 unless you specifically book time off.”
She elaborated on the demanding nature of soap schedules: “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'.”
With two young children, Atkinson said such unpredictability would be too stressful. “With kids and juggling that, it would be too stressful and I wouldn't want to,” she added.
Open to One-Off Dramas
Despite ruling out a soap comeback, Atkinson expressed interest in limited-run dramas. “However, 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,” she said.
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
