Emmerdale ’s Rosie Bentham has revealed her biggest ‘red flag’ when it comes to others chatting her up.
The actor, who plays Gabby Thomas in the soap, has revealed that she can tell whether someone is a genuine love interest, or not, based on whether they bring up her role on the Dales.
She revealed to the Mirror in an exclusive interview : “The biggest red flag is when someone says to me: ‘So, tell me what’s going to happen next’.
“It’s obvious at that point they’re not interested in me, they’re just trying to get spoilers out of me.
The 21-year-old also finds it ‘nice’ when someone her age says their grandparents watch Emmerdale, but explained that she doesn’t believe many people her age are into soap operas.
“It’s nice if someone says, ‘Oh, my gran watches it’ – but I don’t think many 21-year-old boys are genuinely interested in watching soaps,” she said.
Rosie first appeared on the ITV soap when she was 15 and used to be chaperoned on set by her parents, and cringes as she recalls them watching her first on-screen kiss.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Rosie says. “Not only was I young, but I had my parents sat behind a screen watching everything. We had to do the kiss quite a few times as well, which was awkward. I was so embarrassed.”
She took over the role of Gabby from previous actor Annelise Manojlovic, who had played the part since 2000.
Rosie is loving her role in Emmerdale , but the past six years have not always been easy.
Soon after her arrival in 2016, a devastating storyline saw her on-screen father, vicar Ashley (John Middleton), die from vascular dementia.
Then, just two years later, Rosie’s own father, who was also a clergyman, died from a pulmonary embolism.
“I will never get over the weird resemblance between real-life and Emmerdale,” she says. “The connection is just so bizarre for me.
“I had two months off to let it all sink in but work was a saving grace in that it gave me something else to focus on.”
Both Rosie and her character have done a lot of growing up in the past few years – and now Gabby is working for Emmerdale legend Kim Tate (Claire King), the sky’s the limit.
“Gabby is Kim’s little protégé,” Rosie laughs. “I love playing tough and ruthless and having scenes where I’m the bad woman because it’s not like me at all,” she said.
