As Strictly fans limber up for the show's live tour, Helen Skelton has paid tribute to Gorka Marquez's support during the hit show. The Countryfile presenter has referred to him as her 'wingman'.
In an appreciative Instagram post, she wrote: "Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of hindsight to really appreciate what went down on and off the dance floor." The message comes as the former Blue Peter presenter 'swaps partners' for the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing live tour, which will arrive at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on Tuesday, January 24, and Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
Helen and Gorka made the headlines after fans followed their dance journey to the Strictly final. Millions tuned in to the BBC show to watch them compete for the Glitterball trophy. Judge Craig Revel-Horwood declared their perfect 40 out 40 routine to Mein Herr from Cabaret 'a performance worthy of a win', however, the pair eventually lost out to Hamza and Jowita.
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Those hoping to see the pair perform the dance during the live show's will be disappointed however, as Helen will be dancing with Kai Widdrington, who recently won the Strictly Christmas Special alongside Coronation Street star Alexandra Mardell. Gorka appeared to give a very public seal of approval to the move as he commented on the Strictly tour Instagram post with an applause emoji.
Helen's Insta tribute to Gorka appeared on Sunday evening, according to Chronicle Live. Helen uploaded a highlights video of her time on Strictly, include clips of her performances with Gorka and made sure to mention him in the accompanying post, writing: "As the frozen Princess said LET IT GO. but before I do, I’m posting this flash back to the strictly final for three reasons: one it’s taken me this long to work out the drop box/video clip situation."
Moving onto Gorka, Helen continued: "Two: there’s about to be a whole lot of strictly tour spam that doesn’t involve @gorka_marquez and I need to mark this chapter with an acknowledgement and appreciation of my wingman. Three: These are memories that make me smile and sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of hindsight to really appreciate what went down on and off the dance floor."
After tagging several of her Strictly co-stars in the post, Helen ended: "You are all just phenomenal!!!!! So so much love for you lot! Can’t wait for you to go around the country and get all the appreciation of the nation that you all deserve!!"
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