Gorka Marquez has shared a fresh reaction to his return to Strictly Come Dancing - but Gemma Atkinson stole the show with her hilariously relatable response. The Hits Radio host, who is currently pregnant with the pair's second child, shared her delight at the dancer signing back up for the BBC One dance contest.
He is among the professional dancer line-up for the upcoming 2023 edition of the BBC One show which was revealed by the broadcaster on Friday (April 21). The BBC has confirmed that the 21st series of the hit dance contest will air this autumn and will see Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be back in the ballroom while Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke will be back on the judging panel.
Joining Spanish-born Gorka in the professional line-up are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vita Coppola.
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In response to the new, a video of the returning stars were posted on Strictly's social media channels and the string of famous dancers were quick to respond including Gorka, who now lives in Greater Manchester with Gemma and their daughter Mia. And now, sharing the video to his Instagram Story, the 32-year-old penned: "Can't wait," before adding in the comments section on the Strictly page: "Excited to be back!!"
And he's now followed that up with another post. He shared a video to his Instagram grid of a moment on last year's show in which he made it to the final with TV presenter Helen Skelton. The Countryfile host looked nervous as Claudia told viewers she and Gorka were prepping for their Samba in matching orange attire.
But Gorka stood confidently alongside the Strictly co-host and when asked to be given a taste of to what's to come in the routine, he kept his mouth shut and simply ripped open her shirt to show off his toned and tanned physique prompting Claudia to say: "Apologies," to viewers.
"So excited to BACK for my 8th series!" Gorka started the caption of his post. "Hopefully my shirt gets fixed before @bbcstrictly starts..." the dad-of-one then quipped before adding: "Who is excited for the BEST show on tele! #strictly #scd."
And Gemma, who is just a couple of months away from giving birth to their second child, which they previously announced was a baby boy, was quick to respond as she joked in the comments section: "Every jacket and shirt I currently own does that when I sit down," alongside a crying laughing emoji.
She also posted the video to her Instagram Story and shared her excitement as she wrote: "He's back for Strictly 2023," alongside a person raising hands and love heart eyes emojis.
But it's fair to say fans are thrilled with Gorka's news after he was reportedly set to quit the show after missing out on the Glitterball with Helen back in December. Gorka, and even Gemma, denied the claims after fans felt the dancer and former Blue Peter host Helen were 'robbed'.
@kelli82 said: "I don’t even care who your partner is o just want to see you lift the glitterball." @mumfy555 commented: "My daughter and I are over the moon, our winners 2022." @tania.bartlett shared: "No no no need to fix your shirt great to see you are going to be back for the new series
@krazykezza77 posted: "Yey it wouldn't be the same without you." @looby530 wrote: "gorka,should of won last year,maybe this time." @courtneeybain replied: "Sooo happy you’re back." @colleenrita46 typed: "Delighted you’re back." @emmahart_75 added: "Amazing news, I think you’re fabulous and I’m so glad to see you back on @bbcstrictly, can’t wait to see who you’re partnered with this year."
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