BIG BROTHER

to Be a Diva which led the reporter to ask: “Have you read the book?” Gemma later admitted she had not exactly slaved at a keyboard, telling Loose Women: “Well, I didn’t sit writing it. They said, ‘How about we get someone to walk around with you with a dictaphone?’.” Whether she is conscious of spewing the one-liners is unclear but Gemma is no dumb Essex girl (she’s not an Essex girl at all, she was born in London borough Romford).

The daughter of working-class parents Alan and Joan went to Sylvia Young Stage School and fell in love with musicals. A stage career never took off so she jumped at the next best thing: reality TV. Somewhat candidly, she has quietly admitted that sometimes she wonders if she should have been more careful what she wished for. Despite being proud of her plus-sized clothes line, her fame has put an unfair focus on her weight.

She said in 2017: “I felt more beautiful before I went on TV, I get so much criticism. I suffered from anxiety a little while ago and took tablets. There’ve been days when I think I can’t do this any more.”

So is the rude, self-serving alter-ego The GC just a release from that anxiety?

Away from the cameras, her worries have been real. She claimed the reason she was so upset in the jungle was that she had been attacked by an ex-boyfriend just before she flew to Oz. He strongly denied the claims, but police confirmed they had been called to her address.

Then there was the broken engagement with Rami Hawash. Their threeyear-relationship ended in 2014 with his claims that she threw an Indian takeaway over him in a row. Even her current