Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Marquez has made a surprise revelation about how celebrities and professional dancers on the show are paired up for each competition.
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The dancer, who first appeared on the BBC programme in 2016, was appearing on Scala Radio this week alongside fellow pro Karen Hauer, when he the comment.
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Gorka explained how the celebrity line-up and the group of dancers meet before the couples are announced, and some of the professionals already have an idea of who they want to dance with.
"You see some people when they know who they want to dance with or who they don't want to dance with," he began, adding: "If they say they want to dance with that person over there they are very friendly, very happy, very helpful, if they don't want to dance with someone, some people don't even talk to them."
Karen then interjected: "We try to be courteous and amicable to everyone whether you want to dance with them or not. If they can't dance they might turn out to be the loveliest person."
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Gorka and Gemma with Mia
Gorka then revealed that he knew he didn't want to dance with 2017 contestant Gemma Atkinson, to whom he is now engaged, but explained his reasons behind the decision. "No I didn't want to dance with Gemma. She was very tall for me," he told the radio show.
Gemma was paired with Aljaz Skorjanec and the pair went onto land a place in the final. Since meeting on the show in 2017, Gorka and Gemma have gone onto to welcome their daughter Mia together, who was born in 2019. In 2021, the pair announced their engagement.
Meanwhile, Strictly romances have been hitting headlines again in recent times following the most recent series. Professional dancers Nadia Bychkova and Kai Widdrington, who are both currently taking part in the official tour, are thought to be an item following news they have been dating "for months". However, neither party have confirmed the reports.
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