'It's the best soap I've ever worked on!' Gemma Atkinson dismisses reports she's leaving Emmerdale, revealing she's signed a new contract with the ITV serial 

Gemma Atkinson has dismissed recent reports she is quitting Emmerdale, revealing she has actually signed a new contract with the soap. 

The 32-year-old actress was recently rumoured to be departing the Dales in order to concentrate on her burgeoning Bollywood career.

'I'm not leaving Emmerdale for a while. I've just signed another contract with them,' she revealed in a new interview.

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Gemma - who previously appeared in Hollyoaks and Casualty - said: 'We're not allowed to talk about contracts - Emmerdale won't let me. I'm not leaving. I'm loving my time on there.

'It's literally the best soap I've ever worked on and I know that sounds clichéd but everyone is so lovely and the production is run so well and we're like one big family over there.'

Last year, Gemma made her Bollywood début in film Fever and though she has no other films in the pipeline at the moment, she's keen to do more in the future. 

She told BANG Showbiz: 'I would love to [do another]. The Bollywood film I did do, it's gone down well in India and it was a great experience and I loved doing it.

'If the opportunity came up again, I would love to do it but at the moment, I'm so busy and don't plan to at the moment.'

The actress, who was spotted in Manchester on Tuesday leaving her Key 103 breakfast show, promised more drama for her character Carly on the ITV soap.

She revealed her alter ego's relationship with Marlon Dingle (Marc Charnock) is set to hit problems when Carly's grief over the death of her infant son Billy four years ago returns to the surface. 

She explained: 'We're going to revisit the cot death again with Billy that Carly experienced. That's going to be brought back around.

'It's basically affected her more than she what she thought. She hasn't dealt with the grief and things that go wrong between herself, April and Marlon is a result of Billy.'

She added: 'The next few weeks are all about Carly coming to terms with it. It was brought up and then went away again.

'They genuinely do love each other and they've both been through turmoil in relationships and they've finally found one that works. We're fighting and anchoring to keep it working. 

Gemma's comments came after she reportedly enjoyed dinner with former footballer Ryan Giggs on Saturday night.

The retired Manchester United football player and interim manager, 43, reportedly treated the actress to a meal at his rustic-chic restaurant George's Dining Room and Bar. 

A source told The Sun: 'He kept sneaking glances at her.'

And despite his current court battle with ex Stacey Cooke, with whom he shares two children, Ryan appeared in good spirits.

'He looked like he was enjoying himself, certainly not a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders,' the source added.

'They gave each other their undivided attention, and kept leaning across the table to get closer.'

MailOnline has contacted their representatives for comment. 

Ryan married Stacey in an intimate ceremony in 2007.

In 2010 he had an affair with Imogen Thomas and in 2011 his sister-in-law Natasha told her husband Rhodri – Ryan's younger brother – that she had been sleeping with Ryan for eight years.

Stacey stuck by Ryan throughout the revelations, but in May 2016 news broke that they had split after discovering he reportedly had been flirting with waitresses at his restaurant.

A source told The Mirror at the time that she told a friend: 'There's no way back. Ryan and I are finished.' 

'Word got back to Stacey that Ryan had been flirting with some of the waitresses at George's, and she had had enough.'

Over the weekend news broke that Giggs decided not to ask a judge to bar reporters from High Court hearings relating to his fight over money with his estranged wife.

The judge made an order limiting what journalists would be able to report – after an application by Giggs.

He said Giggs had also initially asked for an order preventing media representatives from attending hearings.

But he said the former footballer was no longer pursuing that application. 

Mr Brown, a partner at Hall Brown Family Law, said after the hearing: 'Given the sensitive nature of this matter, Mrs Giggs wishes to make no comment on the current proceedings other than to ask that her privacy and that of her family is respected.' 

Giggs retired as a player in the summer of 2014 after making a record 963 appearances for United over 24 seasons and won 64 Welsh international caps.