Emmerdale's Gemma Oaten forced to sign up for benefits when play was shutdown

Gemma Oaten admits that she was forced to sign on for Universal Credit after finding herself unemployed during the coronavirus lockdown period.

The star who found fame as Rachel Breckle on Emmerdale in 2011 had been touring the country in a theatre production which was instantly brought to a close.

Since leaving Emmerdale in 2015, Gemma’s career has continued to thrive, landing roles on Holby City and Coronation Street, as well as appearing on the Million Pound Pawn series, airing on ITV.

READ MORE: Emmerdale’s Paige Sandhu feared ITV director thought she was ‘bad’ on screen

But away from screens, Gemma is also the chief executive of the eating disorder charity, SEED, launched by her parents Marg and Dennis.

However, like many, Gemma found herself unemployed when the world was brought to a standstill but she still had rent and bills to pay.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday about her worst financial woes, she said: “The worst time was at the start of lockdown in 2020. I was on tour, doing a play called Ten Times Table by Alan Ayckbourn, it was cancelled and, like many people in the industry, I got no compensation.

“I had no money coming in, people think if you’ve been on television, you must have money but I was renting and I started having sleepless nights about my bills, bBy May, I realised I couldn’t make it work.

“So I took a deep breath and did what a lot of people did. I went on Universal Credit.”

Gemma explained that she also received a self-employment grant from the government to keep on top of her rent, before taking up more virtual public speaking jobs.

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The Hull-born star later revealed that she was once paid £7,000 for doing a keynote speech at a dinner, explaining she put it into savings and also paid for a holiday.

Gemma recently appeared on ITV’s Million Pound Pawn, where she revealed that she was planning to sell a ring belonging to her late grandmother.

The actress said she had no idea how much the ring would be worth, saying it could “even be worth 20 quid”.

However, a Sheffield jeweller informed Gemma that the ring was actually worth an eye-watering £10,500.

Stunned by the revelation, she said: “I can take mum and dad away, I can give them a break.

“It can go towards the charity and all the dreams we’ve had for it, this money can fund so much we can use it to bring the charity to schools.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk