Former Emmerdale actor Gemma Oaten has opened up about her time claiming Universal Credit, after being left without work.
The soap star has said she was forced to claim benefits after struggling to make ends meet during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Gemma, 38, is best known for playing the role of Rachel Breckle in Emmerdale from 2011 to 2015. She has also performed on stage and was touring with a play called Ten Times Table when lockdown hit.
The actress lost her job when theatres closed in March 2020. And she has recently revealed she had "sleepless nights" worrying about how to pay the bills.
She called the time in her life the "worst time" as she didn't receive any compensation after losing her job as the theatres closed and Gemma had "no money coming in".
She told Me & My Money : "People think if you've been on television, you must have money. But I was renting and I started having sleepless nights about my bills. By May, I realised I couldn't make it work.
"So I took a deep breath, and did what a lot of people did. I went on Universal Credit."
Gemma said she was on Universal Credit for about a year.
She added: "I also got the self-employment grant from the Government. That helped me pay my rent and then I started doing some public speaking work online."
Gemma learnt from a young age that money "doesn't buy happiness".
Growing up, her mum was a teaching assistant and her dad was an accountant. The family were able to enjoy nice holidays and became comfortable as her dad progressed up the company ladder.
However, Gemma's dad, who was the "man breadwinner", was made redundant when Gemma was 15 meaning her family had to "cut out costs and made the best of it".
Gemma also revealed she is an avid saver. She was once paid £7,000 for an hour and a half of her time to deliver a keynote talk at a gala dinner.
She said: "I spent some of it on a holiday and saved the rest."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033
