Oaten's soap plea to Sir Stewart

Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten has revealed that she's trying to persuade Sir Patrick Stewart to appear on the soap.

The 28-year-old, who plays pregnant cleaner Rachel Breckle, got to know the Star Trek and X-Men icon after writing to him for some tips.

"I also keep trying to persuade Patrick to star in Emmerdale!" she told Inside Soap, which is out now.

"When I got my place at drama school, I was looking for a bit of advice about where to get funding, so I wrote to Patrick and Sir Tom Courtenay, who are connected with my local area. Bizarrely, they both wrote back and have become mentors to me.

"Tom watched the show the other night. He emailed me and said: 'That's our girl, very well done - very proud!' It was so nice."

Gemma, who has been nominated for best newcomer in the Inside Soap Awards, hinted that Rachel's pregnancy with Jai Sharma's (Chris Bisson) baby will push Jai to do something extreme.

"Viewers will learn that Rachel doesn't want to be a dirty secret. She wants Jai to tell Charity the truth, and she'll push for that - but it doesn't pan out like that," she explained.

"Jai is struggling in his marriage, but doesn't want to lose his baby, either - so he comes up with a plan that might shock a few people."