Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson has revealed the real reason why Gorka Marquez is happy to not be taking part in this year’s series. The professional dancer, who is a fan favourite on the show, announced he wouldn’t be taking part in the series because he has been asked to be a judge on Bailando con las Estrellas, the Spanish version of Strictly.

The role clashes with the early part of Strictly 2025, which means he can’t take on a celebrity partner this year. But he is part of all of the group dances, which have already been recorded. But while Gorka is disappointed to not be in the 2025 series, his fiancee Gemma Atkinson revealed that it means it will be the first year in eight that he will be home with her and their children Mia and Thiago.

Gemma told Express.co.uk: “It was really tough for him because he loves Strictly, but the bosses were great about it and they worked out a solution.

“It’s actually the first time in eight years that he’ll be at home for special moments like Halloween and Bonfire Night, and to do the Christmas shopping because he’s at home during the week, and this is the first year he’ll be able to like take Mia to school like throughout the whole of autumn.

“He’s so thrilled that he gets to do both, he’s still doing the dancing aspects of the group dances but then has the progression of being a judge, and he gets to see all of his friends in Spain.”

Gemma added that it will be nice for her and their children to watch it and not worry about him getting through to the next round.

She said, “I can just watch it, you know, with no stress or anything, so it’ll be nice actually to kind of see it from a different perspective this year.

“But Mia loves Aljaz (Skorjanec) and Vito (Coppola), so she will be cheering them on for sure.”

Gemma is releasing a skincare range as part of Gem + Tonic, something which she has called a mix between “science and nature”, and features a face cream, hair mist and a moisturiser.

Gemma said: “It has been such a rollercoaster, we’ve had so many bumps along the way, but I really just wanted to do it for every busy woman out there, who are juggling careers and relationships and parenthood.

“For me, it has been about finding that balance with science and nature, and it’s just ideal for people who don’t have time for a nine step skincare routine.”

Gem & Tonic will be available from 17th September at www.gemandtonicshop.com.