Gemma Atkinson has denied claims she is set to leave her role as Emmerdale’s Carly Hope.
The Sun reported the actress has quit the ITV soap to pursue a role in a Bollywood film, but she has now insisted this isn’t the case.
The actress, who has recently been juggling commitments with ‘Emmerdale’ and her presenting spot on Manchester radio station Key 103, has revealed she’s actually signed a new contract.
But speaking on the radio show on 9 February, she said: “We’re not supposed to discuss contracts but in this case I will. I’ve just renegotiated a contract with the Dales to make sure I can do that and this so I’m doing both. I’m not going anywhere for a while.”
A source told the paper she was struggling to cope with both jobs, being on air from 6am to 10am, before heading to Leeds to film on the soap until around 7pm.
A spokesperson added to HuffPost UK: “We don’t comment on storyline speculation or actors contracts.”
Gemma joined the soap in 2015, taking over the role of Carly from previous actress Rebecca Ryan, who was last seen as the character in 2006.
During her time in the Dales, Carly has been involved in relationships with Ross Barton and Marlon Dingle, and a recent storyline saw her reveal she gave birth to a son four years ago, who tragically died from sudden infant death syndrome.
Gemma previously starred as Lisa Hunter on rival soap ‘Hollyoaks’ from 2001 to 2005, and also played Tamzin Bayle on ‘Casualty’ from 2011 to 2014.
‘Emmerdale’ airs weeknights on ITV. Catch up on all the latest soap news and spoilers here.