Helen Skelton may have been looking forward to her reunion with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Gorka Marquez but she probably quickly changed her mind when she got there with her new partner Kai Widdrington.
The former Blue Peter presenter has been wowing audiences across the country as she takes part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live tour with Kai. The pair were put together for the string of live shows, which includes a stop at Manchester's AO Arena on Saturday (January 28) and Sunday (January 29) night, after Gorka decided not to sign up for the shows.
The Spanish dancer, who made it to the final of the 2022 series in December with Helen, left fans gutted when he wasn't included in the tour line-up, however, he didn't later explain that he likes to scale back his work commitments after starring in the TV dance contest in order to spend some time with fiancee Gemma Atkinson and their daughter, Mia.
So this meant that Helen, 39, had to get used to a different partner but it's clearly working as she and Kai have been chosen as the winner of the live shows on multiple occasions since it kicked off in Birmingham last week. And Gorka, 32, has been showing his support at every opportunity by sharing post and comments on social media.
But now he's getting to witness Helen and Kai in action himself. Former soap star Gemma, 38, took to Instagram on Saturday with a string of throwback photos from her own stint on the Strictly Live tour in 2018 after competing in the 2017 series against husband-to-be Gorka.
She penned: "Off to watch the Strictly Tour today so making it all about ME and MY time on the show," alongside a crying laughing emoji. "Excited to see Mias reaction to everyone doing their thing. I may need security for when she sees Will Mellor. She’ll be like me at a Backstreet Boys concert."
Helen was quick to respond, writing in the comments: "Looking forward to seeing you." But as Gemma was getting ready, Gorka had headed off to catch-up with Helen and Kai. He shared a selfie of the three of them to his Instagram Story and said: "Pre show catch up with [the] team. Go smahs it guys."
He then pleaded with his followers: "Make sure you vote for them to WIN the MCR shows." Helen also took to her Instagram Story to show that she wasn't just joined by Gorka and Kai but also former England goalkeeper David Seaman and his ex-Dancing on Ice star wife Frankie Poultney.
Sharing a snap of them at the table enjoying coffee together, the mum-of-three penned: "Kids here. Fam here. Manchester let's go... @gorkamarquez @thedeavidseaman @kaiwidd." She then shared a follow-up snap, the same selfie Gorka posted, and pointed out a problem with their reunion.
"I thought we were catching up... They started to give me notes," she revealed alongside a crying laughing, love heart eyes, and mind-blown emojis. It comes after Helen became emotional during the last show in Leeds on Friday night (January 27). The Countryfile host appeared overwhelmed by the response as she and Kai performed what was Helen and Gorka's sexy couples choice routine to Mein Herr from Cabaret.
As she headed over to chat to host Janette Manrara and get the judges' comments from Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, and Craig Revel Horwood, Helen was hard saying to the crowd in a social media video: "I don't want to shortchange you guys tonight because usually at this point we do the funnies, take the mick.
"I take the mick out of Will, Fleur takes the mick out of me but I can't do that tonight because this is different for me. I had so many great years in this city. My baby girl was born at the hospital and my kids learned to ride their bikes on the streets of Leeds so this is a place that will forever hold a place in my heart and to get to do this... means a lot," she added as she got choked up and pulled into a hug by Janette and Kai.
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