Gabby’s Emmerdale future ‘bleak’ as ‘extreme’ orthorexia story confirmed
Gabby Thomas has been slowly but surely succumbing to incredibly disordered eating for a while in Emmerdale, and according to actor Rosie Bentham, it’s going to get much worse before it gets any better.
What started as a dedication to ‘clean eating’, inspired by the content she’s consumed on social media, is quickly descending into a more and more restrictive diet, one Gabby is increasingly insistent on maintaining complete control of.
‘We are all guilty of ‘doom scrolling”, Rosie mused. ‘It is about looking good, feeling confident, and being in control – something that eventually takes over her life.’
Control, Rosie agrees, is the biggest driver for Gabby at the moment.
‘She is losing control of her life in many aspects – love interests, not finding her place, and her mum being away in Portugal. Gabby has had a difficult time – failed relationships, rejection, failed marriages. She has tried to fix her life with men, romance, business, and money, and now she is trying to prioritise herself.
‘She wants to be in control of her health, her child, and her life. But it becomes a compulsive, pathological fixation. She is also judging others, which reflects the current social media pressure to fit into a certain bracket.’
As her intake becomes every more restrictive, Gabby suffers a collapse, though it’s not enough to make her see that she’s rapidly developing a problem: ‘She is completely unaware that it is becoming obsessive.
‘She has a dizzy spell, and Manpreet talks to her about health and potential pregnancy, but overall, it’s just seen as a ‘pat on the back’ for living healthily.
‘It reinforces Gabby’s mindset that she is doing the best thing for herself. While eating healthy is a positive thing, for Gabby, this is developing into a complete, pathological fixation.
‘Because Manpreet asks if she is eating healthily, and Gabby says ‘absolutely’ – which is technically true, but she’s not eating enough of it. It’s reinforcing her mindset that she’s doing the best for herself.
Gabby went on to explain about where Gabby’s storyline is headed: primarily, a battle with orthorexia: ‘While it isn’t currently a recognised eating disorder, it is an excessive concern for everything going into her body.
‘It will be interesting to see how this plays out regarding her relationships, her son Thomas, and her job in the food industry.
Are things set to get darker? According to Rosie, yes: ‘I think the future is more bleak than bright with this behavior.
‘While she has found stability in her business, the dark tunnel she is going down is extreme. She is making food the ‘villain’ – for example, not wanting Thomas at a party because of the menu. It is consuming her whole brain.
Rosie went on to discuss her own interest in this story: ‘I am passionate about fitness and health, and I am part of a gym community.
‘I have seen the misinformation online from unqualified people telling others what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It made me question who we are listening to and why it forms such a big part of our identity.
‘I’ve known people who have struggled with binge-restrict cycles, but orthorexia – this literal fixation where you can’t think about anything else – is different.
‘It’s that desire for wellness taken to an extreme where it consumes your emotional well-being without you realising it.
‘I do think it’s getting more common and I think social media has fuelled a lot of this.
‘It’s rife with people seeking health advice from influencers while walking down supermarket aisles, without factual research.
‘Gabby is of the age where social media plays a huge part in her life, and she is seeking validation and advice from people online who aren’t qualified.
‘It’s not that healthy eating is bad – it’s great – but the motivation behind it becomes the problem when it dictates your anxiety and guilt.’
