Gemma Oaten is best known for her starring role in ITV soap Emmerdale as Rachel Breckle.
The British actress also hit headlines in 2017 when she dated TV star, Nick Knowles.
But what else is she known for, and what else has she starred in?
Who is Gemma Oaten?
Gemma Oaten was born on May 8, 1984.
She is the sister of rugby player Chris Charles.
When Gemma was just 11 years old she spent 11 months in an adolescent psychiatric unit after suffering from anorexia. At the age of 12, doctors warned that Gemma had just 24 hours to live.
In 2000, her parents set up the eating disorder charity SEED to help other people affected by eating disorders.
Read more: Gemma Oaten slams Boris Johnson for failing to recognise obesity as an eating disorder
“I lost 13 years of my life and nearly died four times. I don’t want that to happen to anybody else,” she told the BBC.
“What I want people to know is that there is hope as well and there is recovery, and there is a life out there. They need to speak up and be brave and seek support early on.”
Gemma’s eating disorder has also caused her to have trouble conceiving. She revealed that when she was 34 she tragically suffered a miscarriage.
Who did Gemma Oaten play in Emmerdale?
Gemma played Rachel Breckle in Emmerdale between 2011 and 2015.
Rachel was the younger sister of Ali Spencer, which makes her auntie to sweet-natured teenager Amelia Spencer.
She was also the mum of Jai Sharma‘s son, Archie.
Rachel and Jai had a one-night stand when Rachel was working as a cleaner at the Sharmas’ sweet factory and Jai was married to Charity Dingle.
At first Rachel planned to terminate her pregnancy, but Jai convinced her not to, and put her up in a flat in Leeds.
When their baby Archie was born prematurely, Jai was so desperate to keep his secret from his scary wife that his dad Rishi pretended to be the dad for a while.
Meanwhile Rachel and Sam Dingle were growing closer and they became an item, bringing up the little lad together.
Obviously Charity eventually found out the truth leading to the break-up of their marriage.
Later, she and Declan Macey set fire to Home Farm and framed Sam. Rachel took the blame in order to free her fella from jail and went on the run with Archie.
When she returned, she got involved in a nasty custody battle with Jai – which she won. And she and Archie left the village together.
Tragically, after such a fight to keep her son, Rachel died off-screen in 2019 of an unexpected heart condition. Archie came to live with his dad.
Following Rachel’s death, Gemma paid gushing tribute in an Instagram post to her character, in which she thanked all the cast and crew for the brilliant times she’d had.
What else has Gemma Oaten been in?
The actress also made several guest appearances on Holby City as Nurse Sydney Somers.
She also starred in comedy-drama Made You Look alongside former EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo and Hollyoaks’ James Sutton.
In August 2021, Gemma took part in the Antiques Road Trip.
Who was Isla in Coronation Street?
Gemma appeared in Coronation Street last year as Isla Haywood.
She met Tyrone Dobbs when her daughter Darcy went to a party with Ty’s daughter Ruby.
The mum of the birthday child, Penny, was rude about little Hope and pretended she had accidentally forgotten to invite her to the party.
But Tyrone was angry with her for judging his daughter and impressed Isla when he stood up to Penny on Hope’s behalf.
Isla invited Ty on a date, but it all went wrong when it turned out she was married. Her husband turned up at Speed Daal and punched Ty!
Read more: Has Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten left Coronation Street already?
Who has Gemma Oaten dated?
Gemma briefly dated DIY SOS host Nick Knowles.
They met at the TV Choice Awards in 2016. However, they broke up when Nick decided to end things.
“One Sunday morning we were lying in bed and all these texts came through about us being photographed together,” she told The Mirror.
“In an instant, he completely changed. It was all about him and how it was going to affect his family. It was really cruel as he said it didn’t matter for me.”
Nick later downplayed their romance, saying to The Sun: “It wasn’t a relationship. She’s talked about it as a relationship – it was never a relationship, we went on one date.”
Gemma went on to date actor Stuart Earp.
However, after a year together the pair ended up splitting.
In 2018, Gemma confessed to the MailOnline that she’s had a tough time trying to find love.
“I think there’s a massive increase in narcissism in this culture at the minute, where you get love-bombed and gas-lit, and the man or woman involved walks away leaving the person absolutely destroyed,” she said.
“And just because someone dumps or leaves someone, they look like the bad guy. When actually they’ve found the strength to walk away.”
Want more spoilers from Emmerdale? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated Emmerdale spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!