EMMERDALE star Gemma Oaten suffered “sleepless nights” as the actress was forced to claim benefits during the pandemic.
Gemma Oaten, a former Emmerdale actor, has admitted that during the pandemic when employment dried up and she was left struggling financially, she was forced to turn to welfare to pay her rent and utilities. The on-screen celebrity, who is best known for portraying Rachel Breckle in Emmerdale, has opened out about her financial struggles.
When lockdown occurred in March 2020, the 38-year-old was on tour with the production Ten Times Table and therefore lost her job.
In a recent interview, the soap opera star discussed the “worst time” in her life, when she claimed she worried she wouldn’t be able to pay her expenses.
As a result of her play being cancelled at the height of the coronavirus outbreak, she has recently spoken out about obtaining universal credit.
Since she didn’t get paid after quitting her job, Gemma was left with “no money coming in” when theatres closed.
People assume you must have money if you have appeared on television, Gemma remarked in an interview with Me & My Money. But because I was renting, I began to worry about my payments and couldn’t sleep. I realised I couldn’t make it work by May.
“So I inhaled deeply and did what many people did. I signed up for Universal Credit
The actress said she had been receiving government assistance for a year.
“I also received the government’s self-employment grant,” she continued. I was able to pay my rent thanks to that, and I later began working online as a public speaker.
Gemma also talked about her spending patterns, admitting that she is a very wise saver and that she learnt early on that “money doesn’t buy happiness.”
Her father was an accountant, while her mother was a teaching assistant.
The family could enjoy holidays and other luxuries and was content.
Sadly, Gemma’s father, who was the “primary breadwinner,” lost his job when she was 15; as a result, the family had to “reduce costs,” but they “made the most of it.”
The former Emmerdale star recalls receiving £7,000 for an hour and a half of work to give a keynote address at a gala banquet.
I kept the rest and used some of it for a vacation, she stated.
The on-screen star spoke candidly about her health struggles today on ITV’s Lorraine.
The performer admitted that, given her history with an eating condition, she is unsure if she will ever be able to have children.
The actress, who struggled with bulimia before developing anorexia at age 10, appeared on Lorraine to talk about her experience with Milk-alkali syndrome earlier this year, which resulted in her being taken to the hospital.
She said to Carol Vorderman, a stand-in for Lorraine Kelly: “I don’t tell my experience to play the violins or to sing “woe is me.” Because I don’t want anyone to experience what I am, I am sharing it.” Even though I’ve been healthy for 15 years, I recently learned that I may not be able to have children, and I also discovered that I have Milk-alkali syndrome because I tried to do something that I believed was proper but wasn’t.
“My teeth are falling out from years of damage, therefore I’m having significant dental surgery tomorrow.”
Added her: “It’s a mental health condition, which makes it really challenging and toxic to treat. Many people believe that it is about vanity and social media, but it is actually about people who are experiencing suffering.”
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