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Gemma Atkinson
Atkinson in September 2006
Birth name	Gemma Louise Atkinson
Date of birth	16 November 1984 (1984-11-16) (age 24)
Place of birth	Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Green
Measurements	34E
Dress size	10 (UK)
Official website

Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984 in Bury, Greater Manchester) is an English actress, television personality and glamour and lingerie model.

Personal Life

Originally from Bury, Greater Manchester, Atkinson took her GCSEs at Castlebrook High School before becoming a commercial and photographic model.

Contrary to many internet hoaxes^{citation needed}, she is not related to English comedian, actor and writer, Rowan Atkinson.

Atkinson is currently engaged to football striker, Marcus Bent.¹ She ranked No. 06 in COED Magazine Online's "50 Sexiest WAGs of World Football."²

Acting career

Atkinson rose to fame playing Lisa Hunter on the Channel 4 teenage soap opera Hollyoaks. Atkinson and Marcus Patric (who played the character Ben Davies) subsequently appeared in a "spin-off" series called Hollyoaks: Let Loose for E4, in which their characters started a new life together in Chester. This was followed by Hollyoaks: In the City also screened on the E4 network.

Atkinson played Goldie Lookin Chain's love interest in the music video for the single "R'n'B" and featured on the cover of the CD single release.

In October 2007, Atkinson played herself in an episode of the Channel 4 pilot series Comedy Showcase: Plus one.

In January 2008, Atkinson appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, answering questions on the subject of Michael Le Vell. She was eliminated from the show after failing to spot that the Coronation Street actor was a Manchester United fan.

In 2008, Atkinson will star in the British independent film Boogie Woogie alongside Heather Graham.³ According to press reports, Atkinson is also planning to launch a music career.⁴

Gemma made her debut video game appearance in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as Lt. Eva McKenna.⁵ She also took part in EA's Be The One event in Trafalgar Square on 29 October 2008, which forms part of the London Games festival.⁶

In December 2008 Gemma is scheduled to appear in Peter Pan at the Manchester Opera House. She will take the title role alongside John Thomson who will play Captain Hook.⁷

TV personality

She has appeared as a contestant on Reality TV series such Celebrity Weakest Link (with Marcus Patric) in December 2006, Celebrity Masterchef and ITV1's Soapstar Superstar in January 2007. She reached the last four stage of Soapstar Superstar ⁸.

Songs performed on Soapstar Superstar:

• Day 1: Who Knew (Pink)
• Day 2: Fields of Gold (Eva Cassidy)
• Day 3: I Love Rock 'n' Roll (The Arrows)
• Day 4: Love at First Sight (Kylie Minogue)
• Day 5: You're Still the One (Shania Twain)
• Day 6: Brass in Pocket (The Pretenders); Pink Medley: Just like a Pill/Feel Good Time/Last to Know

In November 2007, she appeared on ITV1 in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, in Australia, coming fifth in the competition.⁹

On 15/16 March 2008 Gemma co-presented the Play.com Live gamers expo at Wembley stadium with Virgin Radio presenter Iain Lee.

Gemma and her family appeared on All Star Family Fortunes on 20 September 2008 alongside Antony Cotton and his family. The Atkinsons did not win any points on the show; however, Gemma was given £1,000 for her chosen charity.

Glamour modeling

In early 2006, Atkinson underwent breast enlargement surgery, which took her bra size to a 34E. She said in an interview that she lost weight due to a fitness regime and her bust size declined. The surgery then gave them the original shape they once were.¹⁰

Since launching her parallel career as a glamour model, Atkinson has appeared in provocative photoshoots in lingerie and swimwear, including non-nude topless shots, for men's magazines such as Arena, FHM, Loaded, Maxim, Zoo Weekly and Nuts. In October 2006, she appeared in three of the aforementioned magazines in one month, becoming one of the most prolific celebrity glamour models in the UK. In November 2006, it was announced by Zoo Weekly that Atkinson had agreed to lend her name to their regular "sex and relationships column". She has also released 2 very successful calendars, in 2006 and 2007. Like the previous year, her 2009 calendar was also shot in Thailand and is set to be released in November 2008.

Since 2006, she has appeared in FHM's 100 Sexiest List, debuting at number 32 in 2006; following her appearance on the cover of FHM, she moved up to 23 in 2007; and in 2008, she rose again to number 18.

In May 2007, Atkinson was announced as the "glamourous new face" of the British Grand Prix and the official "mascot" of the "hi-octane" championship at Silverstone on 8 July. She was the face of the 2007 Tour de France. In early 2007 she was elected to be the new face of the Lingerie chain La Senza.

In October 2007, Atkinson was elected the new face of Ultimo's D-G range.¹¹ She opened Ultimo stores within Debenham branches in London, Belfast and Glasgow.

Charity work

In September 2007, Atkinson did a 5 km charity run for Breast Cancer awareness.

She embarked upon a 228 km walk along the Great Wall of China in April 2008, as part of a charity event organised by Olivia Newton-John's breast cancer awareness charity. She was joined on her section of the walk by celebrities Marcus Patric and Ant and Dec amongst others. The walk was intended to symbolize the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery. Information about the walk can be found here.

Gemma visited The Home and Garden Show at Chester Racecourse, on June 5, 2008, to unveil the room she designed with furniture store owner Arighi Bianchi which would be suitable for teenagers in conjunction with the Teenage Cancer Trust charity. Her room design later won first prize and she collected a trophy for her efforts.

It was created in association with Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT), the Home and Garden Show's official charity, and the design will now be incorporated into the TCT unit at Christie Hospital, Manchester. Gemma has also been asked to become a full ambassador for the TCT charity.

References

External links

• Gemma Atkinson at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website