Gemma’s own diet involves eating healthily between Monday and Thursday, and then treating herself from Friday until Sunday
The Hollyoaks star, 25, who plays dizzy beautician Carmel McQueen, says: “When I was younger I tried loads of diets - like not eating after 6pm and no carbs after lunch - I was always aspiring to be something else. I was a size 10-12 and didn’t like wearing bikinis at all.
“As I’ve got older I’ve realised you can’t change your body type.”
“As I’ve got older I’ve realised you can’t change your body type.” Having a boob job, taking her from a 30B to a 30F at the age of 21, helped Gemma overcome some of her insecurities, but it’s exercise that has boosted her confidence. She now works out three times a week with a personal trainer. “I do 30 minutes on the treadmill - one minute walking, two jogging, then two sprinting,” says Gemma. “Then I do lunges with weights and press-ups. I also go to an outdoor running club and walk my dogs - a St Bernard called Cole and a Westie called Phoebe - for an hour or two every day.”
It’s no wonder the Manchester-born actress is so proud of the results. She says: “When I look at my body I think, ‘You worked hard and it’s paid off.’”
“When I look at my body I think, ‘You worked hard and it’s paid off.’”
Gemma, who’s 5ft 5 and a size 8-10, says she has no idea how much she weighs, but adds: “I’m in proportion, I’m toned well, nothing wobbles too much! I’ve got cellulite, but then hasn’t everyone?”
Gemma started her exercise regime a few months after she joined Hollyoaks in June 2006 – she’d put on weight due to her busy filming schedule and erratic mealtimes. But she says the show’s bosses put no pressure on her to lose weight. “They’re happy for the girls to be their natural body shapes - they don’t want us all being stick thin!” she smiles. The thrill of seeing results and the endorphin buzz she got from the workouts became addictive.
“I got obsessed,” admits Gemma. “I was going five times a week and never had time to see my friends, so I had to chill out.”
She now works out three times a week, unless she’s about to go on holiday when she’ll try to fit in an extra session. Earlier this year she went to Las Vegas with her fiancé, property developer Ian Minton, 27, and admits she worked out lots beforehand.
It was worth the effort. Poolside photos of her wearing a cutaway swimsuit and platforms were all over the newspapers.
“It looked like I was overdressed, but it was the sort of place where everyone came to the pool with a full face of make-up!” she says. “Heels are so flattering with a bikini.”
Although Gemma describes her own style as relaxed, playing a high-maintenance character in the soap means she too has to follow a pampering regime.
Her regular treatments include getting her eyebrows threaded and tinted, spray tans, acrylic nails and eyelash extensions.
“It takes up so much time!” she laughs. “But it helps me feel more confident when I’m wearing something skimpy.”
Gemma’s other tip for looking great in a bikini is a killer cleavage. As a teen she dreamed of boosting her bust with implants. She spent four years researching the options before going under the knife at 21, and now describes her boob job as “the best thing I’ve ever done,” adding: “Even my mum thought they looked fantastic.”
Unsurprisingly, Gemma’s ideal celeb bodies are curvy girls, Beyoncé and J-Lo.
“I don't get the size 0 thing at all,” she says. “If you’re naturally that size, fine, but if not then why starve yourself?”
Gemma’s own diet involves eating healthily between Monday and Thursday, and then treating herself from Friday until Sunday. A typical “good” day is Bran Flakes with berries, pasta with chicken for lunch, and fish with veg and potatoes for dinner with fruit snacks.
She now works out three times a week
And at the weekend? “Sausage butties, Indian takeaways, chocolate or the odd glass of wine,” she says. “Whatever I fancy!
“I used to be stricter, but now my metabolism is faster I can be more relaxed.”
Although Gemma’s planning a big wedding with Ian next year, she has no plans for a bridal shape-up. “I’d get married the way I look now,” she says.
The couple met 18 months ago and Ian proposed on holiday in the Maldives at Christmas. It won’t be Gemma’s first wedding - last year her Hollyoaks character tied the knot in typical tacky style, roller-skating down the aisle with fake tan all over her lace frock. Thankfully, her real-life marriage promises to be far more tasteful. She says: “I’ve fallen in love with an Oscar de la Renta dress, but it’s £30,000. I said to Ian: “You buy the wedding dress, don’t you, babe?” Sadly, he said no!”