Gemma Atkinson is encouraging women to embrace their cellulite and stretch marks, adding that her partner ‘loved’ her body after she gained weight during pregnancy.

Gemma, the president of Edenfield-based Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, said she gained three-and-a-half stone during pregnancy but said insecurity about her body was “in her own mind”.

She said fiancé and Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, Gorka Márquez, “couldn’t get enough” of her body.

In a clip, shared on her Instagram podcast page Overshare with Gemma Atkinson, the mum-of-two said: “When I was pregnant I put on three-and-a-half stone. I developed loads of cellulite and I was like ‘Oh my gosh’.

Gorka MárquezGorka Márquez (Image: PA)“Gorka wasn’t bothered he was like ‘the more the merrier’, he couldn’t get enough.

“He was like ‘you look beautiful’ and he loved it. It was in my own mind.”

Gemma said she calls her pregnancy stretch marks her “tiger stripes”.

(Credit: Instagram/@gemmasovershare)

The former Hollyoaks actress said: “My stretch marks on my backside are now going to be known as my tiger stripes. I have tiger stripes because I have, grown, housed, and delivered two children.”

In her Better Body Confidence podcast episode she also opened up about the “shock and upset” she felt looking at her body following a caesarean section with her first child, Mia.

Gemma Atkinson Gemma Atkinson (Image: Instagram/@gemmasovershare) Gemma said: “Mia ended up being an emergency caesarean section and you don’t look at your scar for a good few days, because they change the dressing.

“The first time I got home I remember peeling off the c-section bandage and standing in the mirror. It was so swollen and bruised. I remember I started crying thinking ‘this is so awful, there’s a big cut on my body’.

“Now I have had a second c-section and I now look at is as ‘that’s where my children gained their life’. How capable was my body?

“I now feel ashamed of the shock and upset I felt when my body did such an amazing and wonderful thing.”

You can listen to Overshare with Gemma Atkinson on all podcast streaming platforms