Gemma Atkinson has ruled out a return to the world of soap for the time being, revealing why she has no plans to go back to Emmerdale or Hollyoaks.

Atkinson originally rose to fame playing Hollyoaks‘ Lisa Hunter, with her character’s hard-hitting storylines including self-harm, accidentally shooting her boyfriend Ben Davies and being bullied by Steph Dean.

She later joined Emmerdale as Carly Hope, playing Bob’s daughter for two years between 2015 and 2017.

The actor has now told The Mirror that, although she would “love to go back to acting again”, she doesn’t think a return to soaps would work for her family.

“I would love to do a one-off drama where there was a start date and an end date, so I could plan childcare around it,” she said.

Explaining that her partner, Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Márquez, is committed to working on Strictly between July and December every year, she said that his location can be “all up in the air” for those months.

“To go back to a soap wouldn’t really be realistic because the hours are so few and far between – you’re either in 12 hours a day or you’re in two hours a day, your schedule can change at the drop of a hat,” she said.

“I loved my time on all the soaps – it’s where I am now because of them – but I think, now that I’ve got the children, I just wouldn’t be able to commit unfortunately.”

Atkinson, who shares daughter Mia and son Thiago with Márquez, also spoke about her “rivalry” with her partner ahead of this year’s Soccer Aid.

With Atkinson acting as a celebrity ambassador for the England team, and Márquez due to be playing for the World team, the star joked that they will “definitely” be temporary rivals.

“He’s still rubbing it in about the Spanish game in the summer,” she said. “So yeah, he will still be rubbing it in but I’m going to put the kids in England shirts, he’s outnumbered.”