Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez has faced speculation about her future on the hit BBC show after he missed the last series due to his committments in Spain
Gorka Marquez has addressed the “hardest part” of Strictly Come Dancing amid speculation the star has been axed from the show. Gorka, 35, joined the hit BBC show as a professional dancer in 2016.
In his first series on the show he reached the final with former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. He replicated the feat in 2022 with Morning Live presenter Helen Skelton.
However he was absent from the last series because of his commitments on the Spanish version of Strictly, where Gorka is a judge. Strictly has recently waved goodbye to a number of its professional dancers.
Michelle Tsiakkas was flooded with support as she confirmed her axe from the show. While Karen Hauer, the longest-serving professional on Strictly, confirmed her exit, as did Luba Mushtuk.
While the show is yet to confirm its line-up for 2026, Gorka is among those performing in the Strictly Professionals Live tour. He will be joined by Julian Caillon, Luba, Vito Coppola, Neil Jones, Lauren Oakley, Jowita Przystał, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.
On their Lost in Translation podcast, Gorka’s wife Gemma Atkinson asked if the tour was going okay. The Spanish professional dancer replied: “Yes, I am enjoying it. Rehearsals are the hardest part.
“Anyway, it’s different people, so yeah, we’re just walking around, but it’s fun. It’s new faces doing the pro tour, it’s nice, it’s a good bunch.”
Gorka had previously revealed he was “super excited” to take part in the tour. Speaking ahead of the show, he said: “Speaking on behalf of all my fabulous fellow pros, we’re super excited to be heading out on tour next year with this great show!
“The audiences should be ready to have a fantastic time when they come to watch us across the UK because we are going to give them our best performance. We can’t wait to hit the dance floor to entertain everyone.”
Elsewhere, former Strictly professional and the presenter of companion show It Takes Two Janette Manrara has recently addressed reports she has also been axed. Despite the BBC saying it was “factually incorrect” that Janette and co-host Fleur East had been dropped, whispers continued.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Janette was asked whether fans would see her on It Takes Two in the autumn. She said: “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and find out. I think everyone at the moment is on standby, so we’ll see what happens… That’s showbiz!”
As well as four professional dancers, Strictly has lost presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly for the upcoming series. Latest odds placed former It Takes Two presenters Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark among the frontrunners for the job, along with Emma Willis.
Other names being considered are said to include Fleur and Janette as well as Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and former Strictly champion Stacey Dooley.
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