Gemma Atkinson has lifted the lid on the reason she wouldn’t return to the world of soaps, despite ‘loving her time’ on them.

The actress, 40, first rose to fame as Sєxy siren Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks, before taking on the role of Carly Hope in Emmerdale, amongst other soap acting jobs.

She left the show in 2017 and has since focused on other projects, including radio and reality shows.

Now, revealing why she wouldn’t join a soap again, Gemma told The Mirror: ‘My partner, Gorka [Marquez], he starts Strictly Come Dancing from July, so from July to Christmas, he’s kind of wherever his partner is based, if he has a partner. 

‘So it’s kind of all up in the air. So to go back to a soap wouldn’t really be realistic because the hours are so few and far between, you’re either in 12 hours a day or you’re in two hours a day, your schedule can change at the drop of a hat.’

Gemma added: ‘I loved my time on all the soaps, its where I am now because of them but I think, now that I’ve got the children, I just wouldn’t be able to commit unfortunately.’

Gemma Atkinson has lifted the lid on the reason she would never return to the world of soaps, despite ‘loving her time’ on them

The actress, 40, first rose to fame as Sєxy siren Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks, before taking on the role of Carly Hope in Emmerdale (above), amongst other soap acting jobs

Gemma is engaged Strictly dancer Gorka, after they started dating on the show in 2017. 

She announced her engagement in 2021, but the couple have been forced to push back their wedding multiple times due to work commitments. 

The couple are also proud parents to daughter Mia, five, and son Thiago, 21 months.

Gemma’s soap admission comes after she insisted she has no regrets about her wild past after settling down with fiancé Gorka.

She a has confessed that back in her 20s she was more preoccupied with her Sєxual conquests than staying in shape, telling Women’s Health Magazine she was no stranger to the ‘walk of shame.’

The star has also been engaged twice before, but hopes to make it down the aisle with Strictly dancer Gorka.

Gemma revealed: ‘I’ve done the, people say walk of shame. I call it a stride of pride, across someone’s landing, praying that their mum or dad doesn’t come out of a bedroom.

‘No interaction. Don’t make eye contact — you don’t want to know what I have just done to your son the night before. Don’t look at me.’

Gemma went onto reveal that she was no stranger to wild girls’ getaways in Majorca, when she and her pals would stay in ‘two-star apartments’ next to the biggest nightclubs in the hopes of picking up boys.

Nowadays, Gemma is more focused on her fitness regime, after being surprised by how long it’s taken to recover from her Caesarean section after having her second child, son Thiago, in July 2023.

Gemma is engaged Strictly dancer Gorka, after they started dating on the show in 2017 and they are proud parents to daughter Mia, five, and son Thiago, 21 months

Gemma previously played Sєxy siren Lisa Hunter in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks

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She told the publication that she wakes up at 4.30am before throwing herself into a kettlebell-and-cardio routine designed by personal trainer Elliott Upton at her home gym in Manchester.

The star has previously confessed that she’s been engaged twice, first to footballer Marcus Bent in 2008, and then Britain’s Got Talent finalist and martial-arts expert Liam Richards in 2010.

Speaking about her exes on her podcast The Overshare, Gemma said: ‘You are not always meant to be with that one person. I have been engaged before. This is my third engagement.

‘Me and Gorka discussed it. He is the only person I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to marry you’.’

‘The other two just proposed. I was like, ‘Ahh, Yes’. Six weeks later, I was like, ‘I can’t do it’. You just know.

‘People do sometimes go through with an engagement or wedding knowing it is the wrong person — but a fear of, ”How do you get out of it?” But imagine trying to get out of a divorce. It is even harder.’

Gemma also revealed that she and Gorka had actually crossed paths before they started dating on Strictly, after she saw him perform while on holiday with an ex.

She added: ‘I was on holiday with my 1742080314 ex and we were dancing in the Bahamas. And unbeknown to me a cruise ship pulled up on the beachfront and we were stood with some drinks, pointing at the cruise ship going, ”Oh look, it is mᴀssive”.

Gemma’s soap admission comes after she insisted she has no regrets about her wild past after settling down with fiancé Gorka (pictured together in October)

The actress has admitted that in previous years she was more preoccupied by her racy conquests than staying in shape (pictured in 2007)

‘And Gorka was performing on that cruise ship. We worked this out. I was there with my ex who at the time I thought, ”I am going to marry, have kids, this is it”. Three months later, turns out he had another life elsewhere — another partner.

‘But then I met Gorka. It is the whole sliding-doors moment. We were in the same country without even knowing, both of us together.’

Gorka previously praised Strictly for helping him to build a family, after he and Gemma grew close after meeting on the show.

He told the Daily Star: ‘Strictly has changed my life, if you look back and go back nine years ago, I came here to the UK for the first time to do Strictly, after never been here before, and now look at me now, I have a family, a partner, two children all because of Strictly.

‘The romance between us didn’t start until we did the tour, as on the show we only used to hang out first as a group and in rehearsals.

‘But then we were on tour after the Strictly, we had more time and would say “let’s go for a coffee” or “I’m going to the gym, can I come with you?” so then we ended up spending a lot of time together, we were like travelling every day to different cities.’