Strictly Come Dancing favourite Gorka Márquez has spoken out about rumours he has stepped down from the show.
Gorka has been with Strictly since 2016, during which time he’s made it to the final three times, alongside celebrity partners Alexandra Burke, Maisie Smith and Helen Skelton, although he’s yet to lift the Glitterball trophy.
Following this year’s final, it was reported by The Sun that he had made the decision to leave Strictly, with an unnamed source suggesting the Spanish dancer was disappointed that his celeb partner Helen Skelton had not won this year’s series.
However, in subtle message posted on his Instagram page, Gorka insisted fans shouldn’t read too much into the reports.
When one fan said in Gorka’s comments that they “can’t believe” he’d “left Strictly”, he quickly responded, alongside a winking emoji: “Don’t believe it.”
Meanwhile, Gorka’s wife Gemma Atkinson shot down the rumours earlier this week.
“Keep being sent [the reports]. Wish I hadn’t said to all backstage crew ‘see you next year’ now,” she joked on Instagram, before adding: “Obvs this isn’t true at all! Same as it wasn’t true about [Giovanni Pernice] last year.”
Following this year’s final, Gorka also set the record straight about claims that he looked less than thrilled about the result.
Gorka, who joined the Strictly in 2016, himself recently responded to comments about his reaction to the result of this year’s finale.
At the climax of the live final, some viewers noticed that Gorka had a rather less animated response to Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal’s win than some of the other stars present.
Responding to the accusations about his losing face, he said: “I wasn’t fuming but I wanted Helen to finish the season with the cherry on top. But I was very happy for [winners Hamza Yassin and Jowita Pryztał] – they’ve been amazing.”
He continued: “Whoever won, it was amazing because the three couples have been incredible, but we care and we love our job.”