Gemma Atkinson has signed a new 'Emmerdale' contract.

Mike Toolan, Gemma Atkinson, Matt Haslam

Mike Toolan, Gemma Atkinson, Matt Haslam

The 32-year-old actress - who plays Carly Hope in the ITV soap - has laughed off claims she is taking a break from the show as she couldn't be happier working with her "family",

Gemma - who previously appeared in 'Hollyoaks' and 'Casualty' - said: "I'm not leaving 'Emmerdale' for a while. I've just signed another contract with them.

"We're not allowed to talk about contracts - 'Emmerdale' won't let me. I'm not leaving. I'm loving my time on there.

"It's literally the best soap I've ever worked on and I know that sounds clichéd but everyone is so lovely and the production is run so well and we're like one big family over there."

Last year, Gemma made her Bollywood debut in 'Fever' and though she has no other films in the pipeline at the moment, she'd love to do another in the future.

She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I would love to [do another].

"The Bollywood film I did do, it's gone down well in India and it was a great experience and I loved doing it. If the opportunity came up again, I would love to do it but at the moment, I'm so busy and don't plan to at the moment."

On screen, the actress - who also co-hosts a breakfast show on Key 103 with Mike Toolan and Matt Haslam - revealed her alter ego's relationship with Marlon Dingle (Marc Charnock) is set to hit problems when Carly's grief over the death of her infant son Billy four years ago returns to the surface.

She explained: "We're going to revisit the cot death again with Billy that Carly experienced. That's going to be brought back around.

"It's basically affected her more than she what she thought. She hasn't dealt with the grief and things that go wrong between herself, April and Marlon is a result of Billy.

"The next few weeks are all about Carly coming to terms with it. It was brought up and then went away again.

"They genuinely do love each other and they've both been through turmoil in relationships and they've finally found one that works.

"We're fighting and anchoring to keep it working. "

Listen to Gemma, Mike Toolan and Matt Haslam weekdays from 6-10am on Key 103. www.key103.co.uk


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