GEMMA ATKINSON
on putting her best foot forward to raise money for breast cancer
She’s getting ready to embark on a gruelling charity trek across the Scottish Highlands later this year. But the real challenge for actress Gemma Atkinson will be time apart from her daughter Mia. “This will be the longest I’ve ever been away from her,” she exclusively tells
hello!. But the little girl, who turned two at the beginning of July, will be in the safe hands of her dad, Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Márquez – and it seems Gemma’s fiancé will run a tight ship while she is away.
“Gorka is fab with her and she loves spending time with him on their own,” Gemma says, smiling. “Sometimes I’ll come home and she’ll be in her pyjamas and bathed and my tea’s ready and I’m like: ‘Wow, you’ve been on fire today!’ He’s like Mrs Doubtfire.”
Gorka’s organisation means Gemma can set off happily when – as hello! exclusively reveals – she takes part in this year’s CoppaFeel! trek as a team captain, joining 100 women, including Emma Willis and Giovanna Fletcher, in September on a five-night, 62-mile Highlands walk to raise money for the breast cancer charity.
And Gemma – who first met Gorka in 2017 when she appeared on Strictly, reaching the final with partner Aljaz Skorjanec – didn’t hesitate in saying yes to signing up. “It’s an amazing challenge for a great cause. It’s something every woman is affected by, directly or indirectly.”
One of CoppaFeel!’s key messages is teaching women to check their breasts and look after their health – something former Hollyoaks star Gemma understands only too well. She’s recently had tests on her heart, as her father David passed away after a heart attack in 2002, when she was 17.
“Just because you look a certain way on the outside doesn’t mean everything’s okay on the inside,” she says. “Health is wealth and it’s important to look after yourself.”
A keen fitness fan, Gemma, 36, has been
following a rigorous training plan ahead of the trek, which will see the group climbing Ben Lawers, one of the UK’s highest mountains.
Of course, Gorka and Mia will be cheering her on all the way. “I think they’ll both be really proud of me,” she says.
GROWING UP
Mia celebrated her second birthday on 4 July and her mum can’t believe how fast she is growing up. “Everyone said to me: ‘When you have a child, time flies’ – although when I was trying to get her to breastfeed in the night when I was half asleep, I didn’t think it was going that fast! But now she’s two, it feels like we’ve just blinked and the years have gone by.
“She’s going to nursery now and talking. She’s a little independent lady, which is apt because she was born on Independence Day.”
Gemma suffered a haemorrhage after undergoing an emergency Caesarean to give birth, something that has made her appreciate her body more.
“I couldn’t even get up the stairs this time two years ago and now I am about to do this trek,” she says. “That’s the miracle of the human body.”
She’s also turned her experience into her second fitness and recipe book, The Ultimate Body Plan for New Mums, which is due out next year. “It’s about getting back to feeling your best again after a baby. It’s the book I wish I’d had when I was pregnant,” she says.
The busy mum also has one more event to squeeze into her diary as soon as she can: flying to Spain with Gorka and Mia to see his family.
“They haven’t seen Mia since she was five months old,” she says. “I know Gorka’s mum just wants to hug her granddaughter.”
Gemma Atkinson is taking part in CoppaFeel!’s trek in the Scottish Highlands to raise awareness for breast cancer. To donate, visit coppafeel.enthuse.com/profile.
‘Sometimes I’ll come home and Mia is in her pyjamas and bathed and my tea is ready. He’s like Mrs Doubtfire’