'I was killing myself in front of my parents' Emmerdale's Gemma Oaten on anorexia battle

GEMMA OATEN was just 10 years old when her feeling towards her body started to change and she began to use her diet as a means of control.

By Jessica Earnshaw, Showbiz Editor

Gemma Oaten has battled with anorexia ever since she was ten ITV WENN

Gemma Oaten has battled with anorexia ever since she was ten

The Emmerdale actress spoke out about her battle with anorexia and the effect it had on her loved ones during an interview on This Morning today.

In aid of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the 30-year-old told hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford: "My journey was a roller coaster really, I had peaks of being well and then would go into a relapse.

"It was very difficult… but now I’m thirty and I feel like I’m starting to live again. A lot of people doubt that recovery exists."

The stunner continued: "It’s not just about the sufferers, it’s about the carers and the torture of them seeing their loved ones going through hell. Effectively I was killing myself in front of my parents… And that caused a lot of heartache."

The actress spoke on This Morning about her eating disorder todayITV

The actress spoke on This Morning about her eating disorder today

The star looked stunning in a pink coat as she arrivedWENN

The star looked stunning in a pink coat as she arrived

Revealing how her illness took hold before her teenage years, Gemma said: "It’s nothing to do with vanity, I didn’t look in a magazine one day and think 'I want to be like her' - there was just one moment when I was younger and growing up and I remember looking down and saying to my dad 'am I fat?'

"I was ten and it’s a very vivid memory. I was getting bullied at school and for me the onset of puberty played a massive factor for me… all of a sudden girls would get jealous and I couldn’t control what people would say or do to me but I could control what was going on inside me. I remember thinking if there was less of me, there would be less for people to see and hurt."

Speaking of her recovery, Gemma admitted she owed it all to her mother and father.

She said: "Help started when my mum and dad intervened. But then it was very hard to find the right avenue to get help, especially for a girl of ten.

Gemma was joined on the sofa by her boyfriendITV

Gemma was joined on the sofa by her boyfriend

Gemma Oaten: Anorexia nearly killed me - This Morning

"But I was put in a children's psychiatric unit which wasn’t the right place for me personally… it was a very scary time. I think the turning point when I was about 20 or 21 when one of my best friends killed himself.

"And I remember being at the funeral looking around at the devastation thinking I am doing exactly the same thing as what he did… and I can't do this anymore, and he had spoken to me the week before and said ‘Gemma, please get better’."

To see the full interview with Gemma please visit the ITV website here.

Gemma teamed a white top with a chic monochrome pencil skirtWENN

Gemma teamed a white top with a chic monochrome pencil skirt
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