don't worry, employers could give less of a stuff if you took a gap year or not. So long as you have something lined up to be doing in your gap year, aka full time job, then by the end of it, you are in a better financial position, you know what working in an actual job is like.
also, applying as a "mature age student" isn't that hard so long as you've done something productive with yourself in the interim to put in your application.
The "bored out of my mind" thing is true, i was happy to go off to uni after my gap year, was ready for something a bit more challenging.
Best of luck!