Mentioning a gap year in a personal statement

I don't think you have to mention a gap year in your personal statement, especially this year. People have had to take sudden gap years for all sorts of personal reasons this year, whether it's regarding mental health, grievances, education, or finance. Therefore, unless you've somehow developed skills that directly contribute to the degree you're applying to, I wouldn't waste characters on it. I'm applying on a gap year too- I didn't mention it on my personal statement and I've just received an unconditional offer today, so it doesn't matter

Well done on receiving your offer! What did you apply for?

Thanks! I applied for languages, so I initially thought that I’d have to detail plans for how I was going to keep up my language studies, but I just mentioned some university grammar that I did over lockdown alongside some wider reading and hoped it would be enough to prove that I’d continue to self study over the academic year...guess it worked! Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do amazingly, what are you applying for!