Gemma Atkinson may be backing her man Gorka Marquez and his celebrity partner Helen Skelton on this year's Strictly Come Dancing but she has also shown her support for another star of this year's series. The Hits Radio host was following along with the latest episode from the Greater Manchester home she shares with the pro dancer and their daughter, Mia.
And she was clearly pleased with Gorka and Helen's performance as the pair performed to a piece of music close to 39-year-old Helen's heart. The Countryfile host danced an uplifting Charleston to the theme song of Blue Peter, the show she presented from 2008 until 2013.
Helen beamed throughout their energetic routine which formed part of the BBC One dance contest's tribute to the broadcaster's 100 year anniversary.
Helen and Gorka were first in the ballroom as they moved to Mike Oldfield’s theme tune for the children’s show. She dressed in red dungarees and her partner Gorka, 34, donned red trousers as they performed before revealing a puppet creation of the judges. And the pair secured a score of 35, with judge Anton Du Beke describing it as Helen's “best dance yet”, and Craig Revel Horwood agreed that it was “confident” and “energising”.
Head judge Shirley Ballas also remained on her feet in a standing ovatio as viewers watching at home also gushed over Helen and Gorka's rotuine. As they prepared to take to the dancefloor Gemma sent a message to the pair on her Instagram with a picture of them grinning happily. "Let's gooo!!" she cheered with dancing emojis.
And following the performance, she shared a picture of her TV screen just as Anton completed their trio of nines. She added a one-word GIF to the post, which simple said: "Yay!" before going onto to share her thoughts on Hamza Yassin's routine after he finished top of the leaderboard alongside Helen and Gorka.
The wildlife cameraman paid homage to his BBC nature programming background as he danced the quickstep to On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons, with Jowita Przystal, with fake polar bears in the background. While Craig did criticise some of Hamza's movements, the judge praised him as a “fantastic dancer”.
Sharing another photo of her TV screen to her Instagram Story of Hamza and Jowita receiving their comments, Gemma, who starred in the competition herself in 2017 where she made it to the final, typed: "Love Hamza," alongside an emotional emoji and red heart. "You can tell he's just so lovely," the former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star added.
But Gemma, 37, was also keen to have a laugh as she spotted Gethin Jones in the audience. There was a plethora of BBC stars watching from the sidelines including former BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker, Dragons' Den's Sara Davis, and reigning champ Rose Ayling-Ellis alongside some of her former EastEnders co-stars.
Sharing a video of a smiling and clapping Gethin, who hosts BBC's Morning Live and competed on the show in 2007, Gemma wrote: "Look at @gethincjones all chuffed," alongside a string of crying laughing emojis. In response, Gethin shared the post to his own Instagram Story and said: "Absolutely nailed the clapping..."
Gethin also took to his Instagram grid to share a string of photos including with Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Cox who were also in the audience and his Morning Live co-host Kym Marsh and dance partner Graziano Di Prima. "Amazing night @bbcstrictly for #bbc100 with @kimberleywalshofficial and @djsaracox!" he said. "Some superb dances, cheering loudly for @marsh_kym & @grazianodiprima and @helenskelton & @gorka_marquez! @rose.a.e was brilliant at guessing the scores! Who was your fave? Things get scary next week!"
He then added: "Ps. Guess what happens when @amy_dowden nicks your phone," as his post included a string of stunning selfies of the Welsh dancer she had taken backstage.
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