Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Helen Skelton reveals 'secret' about her time on BBC Strictly as co-star 'feels' for Gorka Marquez

Helen Skelton has cheekily revealed a 'secret' about her time on Strictly Come Dancing leading to her show co-star saying he 'feels' for her former dance partner Gorka Marquez. The Countryfile host and Spanish dancer made it all the way to the final of the BBC One dance contest in December.

Helen, 39, impressed viewers as they watched her blossom in the ballroom after attempting to hit the fire exit on week one. But the pair just missed out on the coveted Glitterball trophy to the show's eventual 2022 winners Hamza and Jowita Przystal.

The former Blue Peter presenter has been wowing audiences across the country as she takes part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live tour - but without Gorka. Helen has instead been paired with Kai Widdrington for the string of live shows, which included 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.

READ MORE: ITV's Lorraine Kelly under fire for actions during Mrs Hinch's appearance on the show

Gorka, 32, left fans gutted when he wasn't included in the tour line-up, however, he did 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.

But there have been no hard feelings as Gorka has continued to show his support for Helen by getting behind her new partnership with Kai, cheering them on both on social media and in person when he headed to the Manchester show with Gemma and Mia.

So for the last few weeks, Helen has been joining her fellow finalists Fleur East and Molly Rainford as well as winner Hamza and fellow Strictly 2022 alumni Tyler West, Ellie Simmonds and Will Mellor on the arena floor whilst also enjoying a good time backstage with her co-stars.

Over the weekend, Kiss FM DJ Tyler branded Helen 'savage' when she jumped into one of his banter moments with pro dancer Neil Jones. Tyler was filming the live show's leaderboard which showed him sitting in second place with a score of 29 following their first routine behind Stockport-born actor Will who had received a perfect 30 from the judges putting him top at the halfway mark of the show. "Look at that, we're second," Tyler was heard saying about himself and dance partner Dianne Buswell.

Helen and Tyler backstage on the Strictly Live tour (Tyler West Instagram)

But Neil, who was standing backstage, could be heard saying: "You're not top," to which Tyler fired back: "Alright, don't be negative!" He did try and backtrack and say: "You have been top quite a lot," before Helen swooped in.

The mum-of-three, who looked glam in a white satin dress with silver sparkles and a black and white cape while also donning black gloves, said: "At least you're on the leaderboard," to which Neil's jaw dropped and Tyler laughed. "He was in my dance. He was actually in my dance though," Tyler then tried to say in support. But he added in the clip's caption: "@helenskelton THE SAVAGE!"

And now she's been sharing her 'secrets' from the hit BBC show. As part of a Q&A on Instagram, Tyler was asked: "What would be worse: forgetting your steps or being out of time?" He enlisted Helen's opinion as she said: "Forgetting your steps," while Tyler disagreed. "I'd say being out of time because if you forget your steps you can just freestyle but if you're out of time you can generally tell."

This led Helen to confess: "Can I tell you a secret? More than once in our dances when Gorka just does this," she said before pulling a strange move. "It was because I'm freestyling. He's like, 'What is she doing? What's she going to do? That's not the routine!" Tyler tagged Gorka in the post and said: "I feel for you," alongside a string of crying laughing emojis and a red heart. And Gorka also saw the funny side as he shared the video to his own Instagram Story and simply added multiple crying laughing emojis.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.