Gemma Atkinson addresses difficulty of solo parenting without Gorka in family admission

Gemma Atkinson has spoken candidly about the difficulties of parenting when her partner, Gorka Marquez, is away from home.

The former soap star made the admission to Christine Lampard while discussing her new children's book on ITV's Lorraine.

Gemma revealed that one of the significant challenges is getting her children ready and out the door in the mornings, and it becomes even more daunting when Gorka is not at home.

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While discussing her new book, Let's Get Ready, Gemma explained: "I realised having two children simple things like, 'Come on, let's get ready, 'let's leave for school," 'let's leave for the day,' can take so long. So we thought if we could find a way to make it fun.

"And it's kind of what Mary Poppins says, 'In every job that must be done, there's an element of fun. ' You find the fun, then it's a game," reports .

"So that's what we wanted to do with Let's Get Ready, make it more entertaining."

The mother of two described the tips and tricks in the book to help parents. Gemma continued: "My kids went through a stage, Mia especially, of putting her coat on, and they taught her at nursery.

"She puts it on the floor, and she flips it over her head, and it's a great way to encourage children [to have] a bit of independence. So it teaches them a bit of independence in getting dressed and stuff.

"So it's great for kids who are at nursery or preschool, going into that school phase because, you know, when you send them off to school, it's things like getting ready for PE and stuff. They do it by themselves."

Christine then asked: "What is Gorka like in that morning madness routine? Is he a calm dad?"

"Gemma responded: "He's a FaceTime morning madness routine at the minute. He's on tour, so he does this thing bless him where he'll FaceTime just as we're ready to leave. So I'm like, 'Ahhhh, can you do it a bit earlier, please, or a bit later?'"

The TV star continued: "But no, in the mornings he is here, he's fabulous. He'll get breakfast prepared and do all that while I'm upstairs, getting them dressed.

"We're such a good tag team, and we're at the stage now, we don't have to say, like, 'who's doing what?' But he's definitely the chef in the mornings. He prepares everyone's breakfast, which is brilliant."

"Do you miss that when he is away?" Christine probed, to which Gemma joked: "I am starving when he is away."

Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV.