Gemma Atkinson has explained how fiancé Gorka Márquez’s Strictly Come Dancing schedule will revolve around her pregnancy and the arrival of their second baby.
The 38-year-old former Hollyoaks actress has been engaged to 32-year-old Gorka - who she met on the set of Strictly in 2017 - since 2021, according to reports.
And together they welcomed a daughter named Mia in July 2019 - and revealed earlier this year that they are expecting a second child together.
Gemma says she was relieved that Gorka decided to skip the Strictly tour at the beginning of the year to support her through the early stages of her pregnancy.
And she has also explained that they are both putting their family before work in the run up to the arrival of their son.
Opening up to Fabulous magazine, Gemma explained that Gorka brushed off fan fears he had quit Strictly completely when he didn’t participate in the 2022 series’ live tour.
She said: “I was very fortunate that Gorka was off for the whole of January. It was great having him at home on the days where I was super-tired. The Strictly team were fantastic letting him not do the tour, because he didn’t want to be away when I was quite poorly.
"But it was bizarre, because we were reading comments saying that he’d been axed and was leaving the show. I was like: ‘Oh no, people think you’ve been dropped.’ He said: ‘I don’t care.’ He doesn’t bother about anything like that.”
Gemma then went on to explain that Gorka is scheduling his Strictly commitments around the pregnancy and that he is booking off plenty of time to ensure he can be present when his son arrives - and help with those early days as renewed parents.
Gemma said: “He is doing the Strictly Come Dancing : The Professionals tour in May, then he’s booked off June and July [around when the baby is due] so we can be at home together. Then hopefully he’ll start the show again in August.
"He loves dancing and the whole Strictly family so much, but he’s wary of taking time away from his family. Being together when the baby is born means he can be fully focused on doing the show from August to Christmas.”
Gorka is currently on tour with fellow Strictly pro Karen Hauer in a show called Firedance.
The pair can be seen performing in venues across England including in London, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield, until the beginning of April.
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