Last updated 11:58, Thursday, 03 July 2008

By Jon SimpsonMEET Barrow’s answer to Jennifer Lopez.

Okay, Gema Lopez is from Madrid not the Bronx and hasn’t starred in any movies. She’d hate it if you asked for her autograph.

But she is famous in the Blue Lagoon, the huge open plan office base of the aircraft carrier design team, and she is a star of the screen – the small computer screen that is.

She is a Foran Support Engineer and one of the people who knows the Spanish designed Foran computer design tool inside out.

She was sent to Barrow to make sure the team working on detailed building designs for the new carriers know what they are doing and to see the expensive software performs as it should.

She has been posted abroad before to South America and also to Japan. Gema, 31, (below) is about to celebrate the first anniversary of her arrival in Barrow from her home in sunny Spain.

Her verdict on life in Barrow: “I hate the wind, all the rest is okay. I think the best part of being here is the people I work with. The people in Barrow are pretty similar to people in Spain though not the people in London.”

During her free time, she has been walking in the Lakes with friends and also visited different cities, and her relatives in London. After celebrating her first year in Barrow, Gema won’t be hopping on the plane home just yet. She is due to work here until at least Christmas.