Ex-Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten: ‘I spent 13 years trapped in a prison – now I want to help others’

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental health issue – and former Emmerdale actress Gemma Oaten knows this fact only too well.

The star – who is 5ft 4 – has battled anorexia since her teens. At one point, she was so dangerously underweight she was just 5st, risking death.

But two decades on, she’s doing all she can to raise awareness of the devastating effects of the condition, and offers support to those struggling with it through her parents’ charity, SEED (Support and Empathy for people with Eating Disorders), which aims to help sufferers.

Gemma, 37, has been open about her illness, which led to her being hospitalised on multiple occasions, prompting fears she could die.

Bravely recalling her trauma, Gemma tells Closer, “I lost my periods, I was tired all the time, I was at death’s door. At one point, doctors told my parents that if I didn’t eat or drink anything in the next 24 hours, I would die. But I just couldn’t and didn’t want to.

“It wasn’t a life I was living. I look back and I feel like I spent 13 years trapped in a prison. It was hell, but I’m grateful I’m where I am now and I want to help others.”

Gemma first recalls getting in the grips of the eating disorder when she was 13 years old, after being cruelly bullied and taunted at school. She says it was a “control tactic” at first, rather than to do with her body image, but it manifested into being more about how she looked in her teens.

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She says, “I was a carefree, happy young girl, but the anorexia began when I started getting bullied. It was almost like I thought that if there was less of me, there would be less for the bullies to say about me. It was also around the time puberty hit – I became aware of my body in a different way and I wanted to stay small.”

Gemma battled the illness for 13 years. She reveals the turning point for her was seeing the impact her suffering was having on her parents, Marg and Dennis, who set up SEED, an eating disorder support service, after Gemma’s experience.

She says, “It was like, ‘Who do I love more? This eating disorder and this control thing, or my parents?’ And of course it’s always my parents. They were devastated, seeing me slowly killing myself. So I told myself I’d get better for them, no matter what.

“It had to come from me – after realising how much it was affecting my loved ones, something clicked and I knew I had to get better. I then had intense therapy three times a week, and that really helped me. So help, combined with my own drive to get better, aided my recovery.

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“Eventually, by the age of 25, I finally started living. But the disorder took so many years of my life, and I have so many regrets over how it affected my loved ones.”

When she’s not performing or acting, Gemma is a patron of SEED. She visits schools and gives talks to raise awareness, and hosts workshops.

And for anyone struggling with an eating disorder, Gemma offers some advice.

She says, “Reach out for help as soon as possible, and share your struggles with those who love you. The sooner you can, the sooner you’ll work towards getting better.

“It’s hard and you have to be brave, but it’ll be so worth it to get your life back.”

Read more in this week's Closer mag, out now