Helen Skelton has broken her silence after her dance partner Gorka Marquez jumped to her defence and paid her an emotional tribute during the latest Strictly Come Dancing live show. The Countryfile host looked panic-stricken when the Spanish dancer halted proceedings to have his say.
It came after the pair brought a touch of Spain to the ballroom on Saturday night with their traditional paso doble to Tamacun by Rodrigo y Gabriela which secured the 39-year-old TV presenter and 34-year-old professional dancer a solid score of 29.
But while the judges appeared to love the routine, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas both hinted at Helen's confidence and self-belief, with Craig telling Helen he felt their performance was "a little bit too polite".
READ MORE: Gemma Atkinson sends defiant message to Helen Skelton after applauding her fiance Gorka Marquez
When they went upstairs to chat with co-host Claudia Winkleman and wait for their scores, Gorka stepped in and asked: "Can I just say something?" The Spanish dancer continued to his celebrity dance partner: "I know you've have been having a difficult time and I know you've been ...you may feel like you're not beautiful or good enough or anything, but if you don't believe in yourself, I believe in you. Everybody here believes in you."
Cheers broke out from their fellow competitors on the BBC dance contest and Claudia added: "We all believe in you." While Helen looked bashful and cowered away in response to Gorka's words, he hadn't finished.
Gorka then added: "It doesn't matter how many times I say it, or the judges say it, or anybody says it it's only you who is going to be the one who can make the change and the one who needs to believe in you, because you are an amazing woman, very inspirational. An amazing mum and incredible dancer, so believe in you please."
As he made his comments, Helen gave her best paso pose before jumping onto the table that separated the dancing couple and Claudia to applause from her fellow Strictly 2022 stars.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday night (October 16) after it was revealed they had safely made it through, Helen shared a screenshot of the moment she lept onto the table to show her confidence and wrote: "Sometime you just got to get on the table and say 'OLE'."
She tagged her dance partner, who some Strictly fans wondered if he was annoyed following their performance on Saturday night. But he took to his own social media to thanks fans for their support following the results.
Posting a clip of the moment he and Helen discovered their fate in the BBC One dance contest, he typed: "Thank you to everyone who voted for us. Your love and support means a lot and we don't take it for granted. So happy we get to dance another week!"
Gorka's comments come after former Blue Peter star Helen announced back in April that her eight-year marriage to Leeds Rhinos rugby player Richie Myler had ended, four months after she gave birth to their third child. Helen and Richie welcomed their baby daughter Elsie Kate on December 28. They also have two young sons Ernie, seven, and Louis, five.
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