‘This is the proudest moment of my career'

Gemma Collins on breaking taboos around self-harm, having a baby and why it may be time to retire The GC

- CHLOE ALEXANDROU, JENNY KYTE, ANNA MATHESON

Since opening up about her history of self-harming on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories last year, Gemma Collins has been dubbed an inspiration. Now, in a new documentary, Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me, she takes an emotional look into her past to raise awareness of self-harm.

Gemma has previously been hailed as the queen of reality TV, but she hopes her latest project, which she worked on with the charities Mind and Harmless, will strike a different chord. The former TOWIE regular turned 41 last month and told new that she wants this programme to signal the start of a different era.

“I want to rest The GC a bit and just be me. I’m comfortable in myself now and I want to show people that side of me,” she says.

Plus, Gemma reveals she’s “desperate” to have a baby with her fiancé Rami Hawash and talking to professionals about self-harm while making the programme has made her feel like she has “the green light”.

“I always put off having children because I was scared that I’d start self-harming again and wouldn’t be a fit mother,” she says. “Yes, I can provide financial stability and a lot of love, but what if it came back?”

Here, Gemma talks about her experience of self-harm and the challenges she faced while making the documentary.

Hi, Gemma! Your documentary is so important. Why did you want to make it now?