Helen Skelton’s former Strictly Come Dancing partner, Gorka, finally speaks out about future on BBC show

Helen Skelton, who lives in Cumbria, was praised by former Strictly Come Dancing partner, Gorka Marquez, as he confirmed his future on the BBC show. The mum-of-three took part in the dance competition last year and impressed viewers as she competed in the finals. The pair narrowly missed out on the coveted Glitterball trophy to the show’s eventual 2022 winners, Hamza and Jowita Przystal.

There was much speculation on whether or not Gorka would return this year due to his disappointment over losing. Many viewers said  the pair had been “robbed” of the winning title.

It was later reported  the 32-year-old was planning on quitting the show where he met his now-fiancee Gemma Atkinson. However,Gorka has now revealed he’ll be returning for the 2023 series.

Also confirmed to return to the ballroom this autumn are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vita Coppola.

Gorka told The Manchester Evening News: “I am super excited. I am very grateful that I get another opportunity to be back on Strictly. It’s the best TV show on telly and for us dancers, to get the opportunity to be part of such an important show, it gives us the opportunity to showcase what we do and to do what we love as a job, I’m very grateful for it.”

The dancer, who has been competing on Strictly Come Dancing for eight  years, admitted he felt disappointed after missing out on the top spot last year saying: “Obviously, when you’re in the final everyone wants to win and yeah, she had a chance to win it but at the end, I’m very proud of what we achieved”.

He praised Helen for her progress and determination adding: “Of course, it would have been the cherry on the top but I won a friend forever and just seeing how much she grew and how much her confidence grew throughout the weeks.... and even the numbers we did.”

During the season, Helen was faced with challenges both on and off the dance floor. She had recently split from husband of eight years, Richie Myler, who had walked out on her, leaving her with three children to look after. Despite remaining tight-lipped about the split, Helen hinted Strictly Come Dancing saved her from feeling depressed, saying: “I did Strictly this year because sometimes you just need to jump at every opportunity and put a big smile on your face”.