Gemma Oaten was left bruised after filming dramatic 'Emmerdale' scenes in which she attacks her on-screen boyfriend, Sam Dingle.

Gemma Oaten

Gemma Oaten

The actress has recently been shooting episodes in which her character Rachel Breckle is bullied by her former lover Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), leading to her turning her anger towards Sam, and has been left with visible marks on her skin.

During an appearance on 'Lorraine', the presenter pointed out: "You've been throwing yourself into it, you're all covered in bruises."

Speaking about the scenes, Gemma admitted her character's storyline is "very full on" and she finds it frightening to think about.

She explained: "I was filming yesterday. I can't give too much away but it's very, very full on at the minute. It's a little bit scary and the storyline is a big responsibility because obviously it's very close to the bone, and unfortunately affects thousands of people out there."

The 31-year-old actress continued to say she hopes the episodes will shine a spotlight on the topic of domestic abuse.

She said: "I think what's interesting and what I'm hearing from the viewers on this story is there's no real black and white with it all.

"I think what we're trying to do is show the emotional side of the abuse as well the physical, as we saw last night. You know and obviously get people talking and having discussions about it."

And the soap star also revealed her father got in touch following Monday's (15.06.15) episode because her character had looked so furious.

She added: "Me dad said last night 'Your nostrils were flaring, you were getting really angry weren't you!' and I was like, 'Oh brilliant, cheers dad!'

"Hopefully me and James and Chris are going to do this one justice."