Gemma Oaten breaks down as she recalls 13-year battle with anorexia
Emmerdale’s Gemma Oaten breaks down as she recalls 13-year battle with anorexia during emotional BBC breakfast appearance
- For help and support with eating disorders, contact SEED on (01482) 718130 or visit www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk
Emmerdale’s Gemma Oaten broke down in tears while appearing live on Friday’s BBC breakfast as she spoke candidly about her 13-year battle with anorexia.
The actress, 38, who played Rachel Breckle in Emmerdale from 2011 to 2015, has been open in detailing her battles with the eating disorder, previously revealing that she ended up in a psychiatric unit when she was just 11 years old.
During a clip played on the show, Gemma wiped away tears and was heard saying: “My eating disorder developed around the age of nine.”
Emotional: Emmerdale’s Gemma Oaten broke down in tears while appearing live on Friday’s BBC breakfast as she spoke candidly about her 13-year battle with anorexia
‘My mom and dad created SEED 22 years ago, and I truly believe that by doing so, they helped me recover and saved my life as well.’
Gemma’s charity SEED, which was set up by her parents after their own battle, will open two new therapy rooms in Hull on Friday, one of which will be named after Big Brother legend Nikki Grahame.
Nikki died at age 38, just a month after friends started a GoFundMe page to fund treatment for her eating disorder.
The second room is named after 17-year-old Chelsea Blue.
During a clip played on the show, Gemma wiped away tears and was heard saying: “My eating disorder developed around the age of nine.”
Opening: Gemma then appeared on the red sofa to discuss her work with Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty
The voluntary organisation, run by a group of ordinary people with first-hand experience of eating disorders, was formed in September 2000 and became a registered charity in 2004.
Gemma then appeared on the red sofa to discuss her work with Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty.
The activist told them: ‘We have given each other a lot of hugs in the last few days.
“A lot of hugs, a lot of crying, it’s something very emotional, we hadn’t seen it before either.”
Anorexia is a serious mental illness in which a person restricts their food intake, often causing them to be much underweight.
The hosts revealed that nearly 30,000 people were hospitalized last year for conditions associated with eating disorders.
Gemma first formed a complicated relationship with food at the age of ten before she was diagnosed with an eating disorder just two years later.
And since then she has been battling numerous health problems as a direct result of her anorexia.
He previously said: “There is nothing glamorous about this devastating mental health disease, and more must be done to help those who desperately need help before it is too late.”
In April, Gemma nearly died when she was diagnosed with milk-alkali syndrome after being rushed to hospital with kidney “distress”.
Gemma’s condition – Milk Alkali Syndrome – can be caused by excessive calcium intake or calcium carbonate supplementation, which causes elevated levels in the patient’s blood, causing their balance to become more alkaline.
Gemma is now dedicated to helping and supporting those battling eating disorders and is the charity manager and patron of SEED.
For help and support with eating disorders, contact SEED on (01482) 718130 or visit www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk
The activist said: ‘My mum and dad created SEED 22 years ago, and I truly believe that by doing so, they helped me recover and saved my life as well.’