Gemma Arterton talks about her upbringing and student debts

A year ago, Gemma Areterton was fresh out of college and up to her ears in debt. Today she is a rising star of everything from Bond films to bodice-rippers, reports The Daily Mirror.

But lean times are not hard to forget and Gemma, whose mum brought her up alone while working as a cleaner, has an eye for a bargain at Primark.

Last night four million viewers watched Gemma, 22, playing Lizzie Bennet in ITV's comedy period piece Lost in Austen. And she will soon take the starring role in Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, the BBC's new costume drama.

But it's not just prime-time TV that Gemma is fast conquering.

Following her big screen debut in the St Trinian's movie, Guy Ritchie cast her in his latest gangster flick RocknRolla.

Gemma also saw off 1,500 hopefuls to become a Bond girl in the 007 thriller Quantum of Solace.

She is now in Morocco filming the action adventure Prince Of Persia.

But if you think this meteoric rise has gone to her head you couldn't be further from the truth. For starters, she still shops at budget fashion store Primark.

"I still have student debts to pay off,"says Gemma. "I've used most of my earnings buying bits from Primark."

And anyway mum Sally, who raised Gemma single-handedly after splitting from her father Barry, a welder, makes sure her talented daughter keeps her feet firmly on the ground.

"I was brought up quite liberally by my mum," says Gemma. "My sister Hannah and I were quite confident kids. Everyone always used to say to us, 'You seem older than you are,' which was helpful.

"Mum's very proud but she doesn't go on about it. She was never that into film when I was growing up.

"When I got to drama school there were all these people going, 'Oh, my dad used to watch Ken Loach films' and I would be thinking, 'Who is Ken Loach?' "

She might not have grown up in an acting environment but Gemma was drawn to performing from an early age.

While at Gravesend Grammar School for Girls, in Kent, she first appeared onstage in an amateur production of Alan Ayckbourn's The Boy Who Fell Into A Book.

Jane Fenlon, secretary of the Gravesend and District Theatre Guild, recalls: "We've got a lot of talented youngsters and you get used to seeing them, but Gemma was one of the better ones.

"I remember her being a pretty girl who was friendly and really enjoyed acting."

Kay Caroll, who runs the drama group, adds: "Gemma was doing well as a child. She appeared in the school play, which was entered into a competition at a local festival, and won the best actress prize."

Gemma left school at 16 to go to acting college and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She could afford her place at Rada only because she got a full Government grant and says while she was there she "got up to my eyes in debt with a student loan".

Life was hard but she never lost her drive and determination.

Gemma's relatives, who live in Gravesend and Rochester, are still in awe of her incredible success.

Trace Arterton, 42, who is married to Gemma's cousin Gary, says: "It's incredible for us to see her starring in Hollywood films and TV shows.

"The family feel very proud but it's also very strange seeing her on the television.

"We saw an advert the other night for Tess of the D'Urbervilles and it's really funny when her face appears on the telly.

"Her parents are both hardworking people and she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

"But she's always had this incredible presence ever since she was a kid.

"When Gemma walks into the room everyone knows it. Then she'll break the silence by saying, 'Hello!' and coming over to chat.

"She's got a very nice personality. She's bubbly and always makes the effort to make conversation."

Glowing words, yet it seems nobody is prouder of Gemma than her dad.

"Barry keeps saying he can't believe how well she's done," says Trace.

"He's still a welder, so for him to see his daughter being so successful so early on in life, he can't believe it. He's gone to Morocco with her stepmum Theresa to be with Gemma while she 9s shooting the Prince of Persia out there."

Her family are not the only ones reeling from her success - Gemma is, too.

It wasn't so long ago that she was working on a beauty counter to pay her rent after drama school.

She says: "It has actually been quite freakish. I don't think it usually happens this quickly so I haven't had time to get my head round it. It all feels very unreal.

"My family are very down-to-earth people. We are not showbizzy at all.

"They are proud and excited and want me to be me as long as possible. They are not from this world, which is really nice. I just want to stay as grounded as I can.

"The whole acting thing is quite alien to my family. When I got to Rada, dad kept saying: 'But can you really make a living from this?'"

Clearly she has proved that you can. In fact, given that she is so much in demand as an actress, it is surprising she can find any time for romance.

Earlier this year she split up with her live-in boyfriend John, a 27-year-old animatronic modeller, and she is now being romantically linked with Spanish stuntman Eduardo Munoz.

They met on the set of Prince of Persia, where Eduardo, 19, was hired to teach her to ride a horse.

"Gemma has made no secret of her romance on the set," says a source working on the movie.

"She and Eduardo are always kissing and cuddling. They are inseparable."

She is happy to be a sexy Bond girl but Gemma believes less is more: "You don't need to show flesh to get attention."

That confidence is part of the secret of her success. When she started out she was determined to aim for what she wanted - even turning down a West End theatre part in favour of film projects.

"If you do this big film it will open the doors for all these other brilliant things,"she says. "But you have to do the big film first. It's like the Keira Knightley thing.

"Everyone ridiculed her for doing the Pirates films but now she's getting great parts. She can choose what she wants."

Gemma is under no illusions how hard it is for women to make it in male-dominated Hollywood.

"It's difficult for a young girl like me," she says. "Because there's a certain time for young actresses, which is like a really juicy period when all the parts are love interests and young heroines. Of course, there's always work for men whatever age they are."

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