Gemma Oaten found it "very hard" to film domestic violence scenes in 'Emmerdale'.
Gemma Oaten and James Hooten as Rachel Breckle and Sam Dingle
The 31-year-old actress' character Rachel Breckle makes her exit from the ITV soap tonight (26.08.15) and has opened up about how "horrible" it was to act out scenes in which Rachel beats her boyfriend Sam Dingle (James Hooton).
Gemma shared: "The script broke my heart. Rehearsals were horrible for me. I couldn't get through them without crying!
"I know it's not real but the idea of doing that to someone you love ... It's been very hard to film."
However, Gemma hopes she and James did the scenes justice in a way that reveals the different "layers" that surround violent relationships.
She told ITV's 'This Morning': "I hope we've portrayed this domestic violence storyline in a way that shows the many layers there are behind these situations."
Meanwhile, James has confessed he found acting the victim interesting "from an actor's perspective" and revealed how the on-screen couple had to split to "survive".
He said: "We have so much chemistry on screen. From an actor's perspective, it was lovely to play out a twist like this.
"When Rachel leaves, Sam will still be licking his wounds. They still have this tremendous love for each other but they've realised that in order to survive, they have to split."
And although Gemma announced her departure from the soap for a second time earlier this year following her shock return in January, James added that viewers may see more of Rachel in the future.
He added: "The door is being left open for Gemma to come back."
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