I play an Emmerdale man-eater… but blokes in real life only ever approach me for embarrassing reason, says Rosie Bentham
WHILE Emmerdale’s Gabby Thomas wouldn’t think twice about leading a fella upstairs after a first date, the actress who plays her says men have a far less raunchy agenda when they meet her in real life.
Rosie Bentham, who has played the Home Farm siren since 2016, said: “A lot of guys my age don’t watch Emmerdale, but they’ll come up and ask me to do videos for their mums.
“It’s usually when we all go out and I’m with the other cast members that I’m more likely to get recognised.
“You’ll see people next to you scrolling through your Instagram page just to check it is you.”
Rosie, 22, was speaking to The Sun before the show defends its Best Serial Drama title at the glittering National Television Awards on Tuesday.
Actor Lewis Cope, who plays her on-screen fiancé-turned-arch-enemy Nicky Milligan — whose gay double life was exposed on their wedding day — is also up for the Rising Star award, against EastEnders newcomer Bobby Brazier.
Rosie said it would “mean so much” to the Emmerdale team to win the Best Serial Drama NTA for a second year running.
She added: “I’m really chuffed for Lewis, he really deserves this award.
“He came into the show and was immediately put into a big Home Farm story, and he did so well playing a hidden villain — even though it had Gabby crying for weeks.
“He’s been so humble about being nominated. He’s so thankful to everyone who has voted him this far.
Well behaved
“It would be great for Emmerdale to keep the best serial drama title for another year.
“Everyone works so hard and I am so proud to be a part of such a talented bunch of people.
“As soap actors we love the loyalty of the fans, and it means so much that people continue to enjoy the stories and vote for us to win awards.
“We wouldn’t have a show without them.”
Rosie finds it funny that people assume she is just like Gabby in real life, and said: “She’s out there and up for anything, whereas I am not like that at all.
“When people first meet me they think I’m this ‘ready to give everything to everyone’ kind of girl, but I’m like, ‘No, you’ve got to try a lot harder than that with me, you can’t just walk through the door’.
“If that was Gabby she’d be raring to go and be like, ‘Come on then, let’s go upstairs’, which is obviously a lot of fun to play, but I’m nothing like that.
“I’m always very well behaved on a night out.”
Even so, Rosie has no qualms about filming her character’s raunchier scenes, explaining: “They really aren’t that sexy to film. It’s more about the practicality of the kiss and making sure you get the camera angle right.
“I can safely say that I’ve never banged heads with anyone during a kissing scene, but it does happen.
“You can request an intimacy co-ordinator but I’ve never needed one.
“When you’re working that closely with someone you become really good mates.
“It’s never weird or awkward, because you’re working with them every day and it’s just part of the job.”
Rosie, who splits her time between her family home in Nottingham and her flat in Leeds near the Emmerdale film set, recently began dating someone new.
She insists she prefers “real” blokes rather than fellow celebs, and added: “I would say that I’m getting to know someone at the moment but I’m very private when it comes to my love life.
“I’m only 22 and things can go wrong pretty quickly at my age, so we’re just taking things slowly. We’re all finding our way.
“It’s very important to keep your barriers up when meeting people because you never know what their true intentions are.
“I’ve always been quite cautious when it comes to love and have never dated anyone in the public eye.
“The guy I’m getting to know is just a normal guy.”
Rosie joined the soap in 2016, aged 14, after bosses decided to recast the role of Gabby, the daughter of village vicar Ashley Thomas, played by John Middleton, and his first wife Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles).
Her arrival in the village caused quite a stir among viewers who had no idea about the recasting, and “Gabby” began trending on Twitter after her first episode aired.
Rosie was brought in to play a more “grown-up” version of the character ahead of Ashley’s exit in a hard-hitting dementia storyline.
Before she got the role, Rosie had spent three years training at Nottingham’s Television Workshop drama group.
The charity helps working-class kids get jobs in television, film and theatre, and former pupils include Samantha Morton, Game Of Thrones actress Bella Ramsey and Line Of Duty’s Vicky McClure.
Rosie said of her soap debut: “I arrived in the middle of that huge storyline and was thrown right in at the deep end.
“All I’d ever done before Emmerdale was a bit of amateur theatre.
“I’d been going to the Television Workshop, which provided a drama-school standard of teaching at a more affordable price for kids from diverse backgrounds.
“They put me forward for the role of Gabby and I’ve never looked back.”
Viewers have watched Rosie get stuck into plenty of meaty storylines.
Gabby gave birth to Kim Tate’s grandson, Thomas, after a one-night stand with her hunky son Jamie, and managed to manipulate her way to a slice of the Tate empire.
Jamie betrayed both women by faking his own death, but Gabby has remained at Home Farm with Kim — the soap’s original femme fatale, played by Claire King.
Rosie said: “I came in as this stroppy teenager and the next thing I know they’re putting me in Home Farm, which was just incredible.
“It’s the set that everyone wants to work on. It actually feels like you’re in Claire King’s house.
“She has been amazing to work with. I feel like I’m learning from her every day.
“I love that Kim sees herself in Gabby and respects her ambition to get what she wants.”
And Rosie is happy to remain an Emmerdale villager. She said: “There’s so many new storylines coming my way.
“I’m really happy and just want to grab everything they can give me.
“I’m at an age where they’re offering me lots of great things. It’s just never-ending drama.
“I think seeing a teenager go through what Gabby did with her dad and then going off the rails, it’s all very typical teen behaviour.
“My character is quite loved. She’s part of the village, so she’s been able to get away with quite a lot of bad stuff.”