Gorka Marquez is returning to work following the festive break and has a busy time ahead, revealing on his Instagram Stories that he has only one day off for the rest of the month! Sadly, though, unlike many of his Strictly co-stars, he hasn't headed into rehearsals for the live tour. On Wednesday, as the star jetted off to work on a mystery project, he confirmed during an Instagram Q&A that he wouldn't be taking part in the tour this year.
When a fan asked: "Are you part of the Strictly tour this year?" The dad-of-two posted a moody, black-and-white photo of himself leaning against a wall while looking down and wearing a black suit with a vest and necklace. He wrote: "I will be doing PRO TOUR IN APRIL MAY," meaning his fans will have to wait a little longer if they want to see him in person.
Rumours have swirled that the star might leave the BBC series since his loss in the 2022 final alongside celebrity partner Helen Skelton. Last year, he wasn't in the competition for long, after he and Nikita Kanda were eliminated in the third week of the show. Towards the end of 2023, though, when asked by another social media follower if he would be returning to the programme, he expressed his desire to do so.
Gorka wrote: "I get ask[ed] this a lot! I hope so, it's not my decision but I would love to!! [It] is the best show on TV and I am grateful to have the chance to be [a] small part of it." At the time of their elimination, Gorka said: "I am beyond proud of her [Nikita], for someone that doesn't have any dance experience or performance experience to come on this show and dance in front of millions of people – for three weeks, I think it's incredible.
"You should be very proud of yourself, you have never let me down and I am very proud of you. This show is going to teach you so many things about yourself that you can take with you and I take incredible memories. I've never laughed so much in three weeks than I did with you!" The dancer has previously reached the final with Alexandra Burke and Maisie Smith as well as Helen but has also faced early exits with Tameka Empson, Katie Piper and Katie McGlynn.
Regardless of his success or failure on the dancefloor, however, Strictly undoubtedly changed the star's life, as it's where he met his fiancée, Gemma Atkinson, back in 2017, as the pair spoke about in their docuseries last year...
The couple revealed that they were dating the following year, and welcomed their first child, Mia, in July 2019, getting engaged on Valentine's Day 2020 before welcoming son Thiago last year.
Gemma has previously talked about whether she intends to take her fiance's surname when they tie the knot. Speaking on her podcast, The Overshare, she explained: "He [Gorka] just says 'I would love the fact that we've all got the same name. It's a family unit.'"