Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten's eating disorder charity praised

Gemma Oaten runs the charity with her parents after living with an eating disorder when she was a teenager

Young people who have been helped by an eating disorder charity run by a former Emmerdale actress have said it has given them hope for the future.

Gemma Oaten, from Hull, developed anorexia when she was nine, prompting her parents to set up the SEED charity to help others with the disease.

Now 38, she helps run the charity's new base at Princes Quay shopping centre.

Sienna, 19, one of those helped by the charity, said: "I can see a future for myself now."

She added: "Last year was when I first started noticing it and I didn't really see a future at the time. Then it got to October and my body started to shut down."

Sienna told the BBC's One Show that when she first got involved with the SEED charity, she was "nervous and anxious", but she was also hopeful because she was getting help.

Sienna, 19, described her body "shutting down" as a result of having an eating disorder

The charity's centre in Hull, which opened in January, provides therapy, listening services, an advice line and workshops from registered trainee therapists for anyone affected by eating disorders.

It includes two therapy rooms named after Big Brother star Nikki Grahame and teenager Chelsea Mooney.

Nikki, who was 38, and Chelsea, who was 17, died from anorexia within a few days of each other in April 2021.

What is anorexia?

• Anorexia is a mental illness which sees people limit how much they eat and drink and become extremely low-weight

• People with the condition often think they are larger than they are and experience a deep fear of gaining weight

• It can cause severe physical problems, including loss of muscle strength and reduced bone strength

Source: Beat

According to NHS data, more than 1,700 young people with eating disorders are currently awaiting treatment in England.

One mother, Toni, whose 15-year-old daughter is also getting support from SEED, said before coming to the charity it had been "incredibly hard to find help".

She added: "Without SEED I don't even want to think about where we would be."

Meanwhile, Toni's daughter said the charity had given her support and advice.

She said: "There's light at the end of the tunnel and I know I'm going to be OK."

• BBC Action Line: Help and support is available here

• 'Chelsea is helping others with anorexia now'

• Eating disorder sufferers face 'traumatic' wait

Recalling her own experience, Ms Oaten told The One Show she was aged 10 when she asked her dad whether she was fat. From that point, she said her "brain just switched".

Ms Oaten described how she spent 13 years of her life living with anorexia and she nearly died four times.

The actress said she did not get the help she needed and that was why it was important SEED and similar organisations provided early interventions before people reached "crisis point".

The government said it was investing almost £1bn in community mental health care to support adults by next year.

That was on top of £54m which would be spent on eating disorder support services for young people and children, it added.

If you've been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.