Gemma

Gemma contracted a rare virus when she was 18 months old, leaving her with restricted mobility in her arms and legs.

When we filmed her at 21, Gemma was a final year criminology student, approaching graduation with a mixture of excitement and trepidation about what would come next. Her mum had remarried and moved to London, and Gemma moved in with her sister in Bolton, travelling between home, her university in Liverpool and her boyfriend Charlie’s home.

We've seen you aged seven and 14 - but where are you now?

"I’m in a really good place in my life right now; I’ve got my own home that I share with my sister, I’ve just finished university and have some pretty promising future career prospects. When this show was being filmed I didn’t really have a clue what I was going to do in the future as I was so busy with work for uni. Once everything had calmed down and I was able to focus on other things than writing; I now volunteer for the Manchester Youth Offending Service and I am now also trained to work in any restorative justice section of the British criminal justice system. I hope to take full-time employment with them once a paid position becomes available."

Are you following the path you imagined for yourself when you were those ages?

"One thing I did not expect was to be having my own home and adapting to living away from my parents as well as I did. My parents did absolutely everything for me as a child, and rightly so as my disability called for extra help with EVERYTHING from getting ready in a morning to taking me to friends houses in order to socialise. If at 14 you asked me whether I thought I’d be living away from my parents I probably would have said something stupid like; “Yes. I’ll live with my boyfriend forever and we will be engaged...” or something stupid like that. We broke up a few weeks after filming, so that was that plan thrown out of the window!"

And how have your relationships changed?

"My parents split up when I was 18. It was a difficult time for all of us. We had to adapt from living in a quite well-off area to living on a council estate with my mum as a single parent looking after the both of us. I went off to university pretty soon after this though so lost contact with my dad unfortunately. I currently have a great relationship with my mum and her new partner, and both me and my sister go down to visit regularly and we feel like it is now our second home! My auntie is now my full time carer and one of my uncles has recently just had a baby, so I feel that we are closer than ever; My grandma always says “you’ve gotta look after your own” – meaning we will always help each other out no matter what.

"My friends have changed dramatically since I was 14. I only really had my school friends at 14 as I only really associated with people who lived in the same area as me. Now I have friends all over the country and even some from other countries! My closest friends I met during college - we’ve become pretty much inseparable, meeting at least once a week.

"My partner has changed quite a few times since 14 as you know how teenage relationships go; you think you’re absolutely in love with each other then break up 3 weeks later, haha! I am now with a guy called Charlie. We've been together for nearly four years now, and he has been with me through everything. He is my rock and I love him to bits."

Looking back to those ages, what advice would you give yourself?

"To just be myself. I tried so hard at 14 for people to like me, but I guess that’s what every teenager does. My current life situation has taught me that if I’m not happy with who I am then how can anyone else be?

"Going to college and university helped me realise that the more open and honest I am about my disability and the help I need, the more people are willing to help."

Where should we expect to find you when Up returns in seven years' time?

"Oh, god knows! I’m hoping to be working full time in Youth Offending and maybe hope to go back to university and complete my education by doing a Masters and PhD degree which I cannot afford to do at this moment in time. I don’t really have a life plan though, I just take every day as it comes as I find life is more fun that way. That’s the crazy thing about life – you just don’t know where it will take you!"