GRAND RETURN Emmerdale favourite confirms TV comeback as she reveals she’s returning to soap that made her a star
EMMERDALE actress Gemma Oaten has revealed that she is making a soap comeback.
The star, most famous for her role as Rachel Breckle on the ITV soap, will be returning to screens next week for her big TV return.
Gemma will be appearing in BBC daytime soap Doctors – 13 years after having her breakthrough on the show.
The performed confirmed that she would be heading back to the programme in an Instagram post ahead of it concluding forever later this year.
Dressed in a chic pink shirt and a tight black pencil skirt, Gemma looked like she meant business as she introduced her fans to her new character called Dani.
Writing online, the soap star said: “Super excited to share some telly box news!
“Hello from Dani who will be appearing in @doctorsbbc next Monday 5th Feb!
“Absolutely buzzing to be asked back to the show that gave me my 1st ever TV role within 2 months of graduating from Drama school, some THIRTEEN YEARS AGO!
“What’s even crazier is, it is aired almost 13yrs to the day of that debut back in 2011.”
As well as sharing some snaps of her all dressed up in character, Gemma took the time to reflect on getting her big break in Doctors fresh out of drama school.
She included a side-by-side shot of her looking years younger as she took on the role of Sam Doyle on the programme for a week of episodes back in 2011.
Gemma, who battled an eating disorder in her younger years, revealed she was honoured when she landed her first role on the BBC show in 2011 just months after finishing her final treatments.
She said: “Having finished my last therapy session in 2009 for treatment of the eating disorder, I grafted like no other, especially as I’d nothing to lose.
“I’d already almost lost my life 5 times & I was finally grabbing my time. So to then get the role of Sam Doyle in #Doctors it was a dream come true.
“Cast by the amazing @brettfallis who literally changed my life, as 4mths after my debut aired, I was cast as Rachel Breckle in @emmerdale.”
Divulging more details on her new role, Gemma confirmed that she would be playing a comedic character who was completely different to her previous role on the show.
Amidst expressing her gratitude, Gemma said: “Now I’m back to say 1 final goodbye to the show that changed it all. What a full circle moment for me. 1 I will never take for granted. Never forget where you started & always allow yourself to embrace how far you’ve come, no matter what that looks like.
“As you can see – ‘Sam’ versus ‘Dani’ couldn’t be further apart & I’m so excited for you to see my episode ‘The Lairy Godmother’ as it was so much fun & I got to embrace my comedy chops!
“I was bouncing off the walls on set daily… She is quite a character! I’ll say no more & leave you to watch.”
In between her stints on Doctors, Gemma played Rachel in Emmerdale between 2011 and 2015.
She was killed off, off-screen in September 2019.
