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But the Emmerdale star is not taking any chances.
And she reckons her best moves are the ones she has already made to get super-fit.
No alcohol. A personal trainer on call 24/7. And a specially designed diet.
And romance with her professional dancer seems unlikely – because Gemma will be keeping a sleep diary to share with a team of experts.
As our extraordinary pictures show, the 32-year-old actress is in amazing shape after a gruelling 12-week body transformation.
And today the man who got her this far reveals exactly how she did it – and what steps Team Gemma will be taking to help her lift the Strictly Come Dancing Glitterball.
Personal trainer Mark Bohannon promises: “We’re leaving nothing to chance. She can definitely win.
“When Gemma says she’s going to do something, she’ll do it.
“She puts in 100 per cent. If she’s not succeeding she wants to know why and how she can improve it.”
When rehearsals begin later this month, Gemma will do three gym workouts a week – on top of training with her dance partner up to six hours a day, five days a week.
ENERGY
Mark says: “We’ll assess her each day and fit around her schedule.”
Mark and his colleague Steve Chambers will even be on call 24 hours a day to guide her diet.
Mark explains: “When Gemma is out and struggling with food we will always be around to speak.
“If she isn’t sure what she should eat, if she has low energy or feels more hungry than usual, we can advise her what is best.
“If she’s on a night out with the girls she can send us a picture of the menu and say, ‘What’s the best thing for me to have?’ We need to be in control of every variable.”
Gemma shot to fame as Lisa Hunter in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks. She has also starred in Casualty, and most recently played Carly Hope in ITV soap Emmerdale.
Mark says the key concern will be sleep, as Gemma will still co-host her breakfast show on Key 103. She has been told to keep a note of sleep patterns so she can cha cha charge on the dance floor.
Mark explains: “The big thing is the quality of sleep because she’ll be up at 4am every day. So we have to make sure when she is sleeping that it’s quality sleep.
“Gemma will fill in her diary and if she’s not sleeping well we’ll use magnesium to help her relax. We’ll also increase carbohydrate in the evening to release the chemical serotonin – sweet potato, oats and banana, which helps a lot.”
And what about alcohol? “If she wants to have a drink, she just With screen lover Mark Charnock in Emmerdale Gemma has kept to very strict routine lets us know and we alter the training,” says Mark. “But alcohol slows down results, so it’s best she doesn’t. It’s finetuning. All the little things add up.” Gemma started at 11st 7lb, lost 5lb in her first week and after 12 weeks is now down a stone. She said at the start: “I love feeling strong and athletic, and that’s how weight training makes me feel. My goal is to become the best version of myself I can be. “We had my first weigh-in – I was the heaviest I’ve ever been. I was 73kg and 16.9 per cent body fat. It doesn’t sound a lot, but for me it was. I’m normally around 70kg and 15 per cent.” Working with the