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The Independent
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Gorka Marquez: ‘Life is about balance, not just work, work, work'
For Strictly dancer Gorka Marquez, the key to happiness is getting the balance right. So although he's about to embark on a gruelling 41-date UK dance tour over a less than two-month period, he's determined to squeeze in as much time as possible with his fiancée, the actress and Hits Radio presenter Gemma Atkinson, and their two young children. 'The good thing about the tour is we only do one show a day,' he explains, 'and some of the places are near to us in Manchester, so with those shows, I'll always drive back home. 'It's miles in the body, obviously, because you've done a show and then you have to drive two hours back, but it's worth it because I get to wake up in the morning with Gemma and the kids, see them for a little bit, have a catch-up with them, take the kids to school and then go back to work. 'So they don't feel the difference of me being away – it's more like, 'Oh, daddy's gone to work, and then in the night, he comes home.' 'It's difficult with every job, I guess – all jobs require time. But now I've been at home since Strictly finished, so I've spent all these weeks at home.' And the Spaniard, who has Mia, aged five, and Thiago, aged one, with Atkinson, says striking the right balance between work and family time is a major reason why he missed this year's Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour, which finished this week. 'When people ask why didn't you do the arena tour, that's one of the reasons,' he reveals. 'I have to find balance – I think life is about balance, not just work, work, work or just family. I want to keep both of them, so I make choices.' Instead, he chose to do his own Speakeasy tour with his Strictly Come Dancing co-star dancer Karen Hauer, who he says is 'like my sister'. He describes the new show, which emulates the edgy atmosphere of speakeasy clubs from the 1920s through to the 1970s , as 'passionate, and dark with intensity', and explains: 'When you think of Strictly, you think of all the sparkles, the glitz, the glamour, and it's not going to be like that. 'When someone comes to a speakeasy, there's going to be something more underground, undercover. The idea comes from numbers like Cabaret and Chicago, and both of us really enjoy the mood and style during those dances – so why not bring this into a show?' And, amazingly, for the last few weeks of the tour Marquez, 34, will be doing shows in the UK and then flying to Spain, where he's a judge on the Spanish Dancing with the Stars, and then immediately flying back to do his next UK tour date. 'So I'm going to be finishing up a show in the evening, getting on the plane, travelling to Spain, doing a show in Spain, coming back and doing the UK show the next day,' he says matter-of-factly. 'I'm going to try and document it, because it will be quite fun.' Fun or not, after such incredible hard work, Marquez will finally be able to take a deep breath and enjoy some family time. He says: 'Then I have another three months at home with the kids, because they grow up very quick and it's those simple things like when they lose their first tooth, or walk for the first time, say their first word, first dance performance at school. You don't want to miss those things, because they go very quick. 'But also, you're going to keep doing what you do, because they are proud of it, and they love to watch you doing it.' But keeping doing what he does means Marquez has to keep very fit, and he describes himself as a 'very healthy fitness enthusiast', who trains five times a week and runs two to three times a week, complemented by daily ice baths and saunas. 'I don't do it because I have to, I do it because I love to,' he stresses. But being a professional dancer, working out isn't all he does at the gym. 'When I'm in the gym, I'm playing my Spanish music, and I'm always just having a little dance and I just start to film it,' he says. 'People love to watch me dance, I guess, and I sometimes share workouts, and people might find that boring, so I just share what I do when I'm not doing the workout, which is dancing.' Marquez eats as healthily as possible, 'mostly natural foods – veg, meats, nothing processed. Lots of water and electrolytes,' and loves cooking too. 'A lot of people ask me always about my cooking,' he says. 'So this year, I'm going to make an effort of recording more videos of me cooking and posting them, because every time I post pictures of the food I make, people ask me to give them the recipe. They're very simple recipes – quick things you can do to eat healthy.' He says he does a lot of the cooking at home, but stresses that Atkinson, who he met when she competed on Strictly in 2017, does some too. 'Most of the time I would say I cook, but she also does,' he says. 'I just love it and I find it therapeutic – I love to play peaceful guitar music, and I play it when I'm making breakfast. I put it on for Thiago to sleep as well – he loves it.' Marquez and Atkinson got engaged in 2021, but still have no immediate plans to tie the knot. 'I don't think it will happen this year,' he admits. 'We're good the way we are. We have two children, we have a house – getting married is just a document, to be honest. In our heads, we're married already. 'Marriage these days doesn't have as much value, it's not like the old days. I think the value is in the compromise with one another.' And that compromise means Atkinson looks after the children when her partner's away, and vice-versa. 'The good thing about Gemma and I is that we're great team,' says Marquez affectionately. 'For example, she just had a weekend away with her friends because they got it for her 40th birthday. So I stayed with the children, and I absolutely loved it. 'She was like: 'Are you going to miss me?', but I actually had the best time, just me and the kids. We had picnics, we went to the park. Saturday night, we ordered takeaway pizzas and made a picnic in the living room watching a movie. It was fantastic.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Strictly's Amy Dowden shares challenges of being in BBC show's first 'throuple'
Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has shared her struggles of being in the first "throuple" while on the BBC live arena tour. The 34-year-old has been strutting her stuff on stage as she continues to tour across the country as part of this year's Strictly line up. But Amy made a hilarious quip of her experience so far as she joked about taking part in a "throuple" with her former dance partner JB Gill and her replacement Lauren Oakley. Last year, Amy was forced to leave the BBC series early after suffering a foot injury, which came just weeks after she returned to the show following breast cancer treatment. Lauren stepped in to replace her as JB's partner and they made it to the final with Amy cheering them on. READ MORE: BBC Strictly's Amy Dowden heartbreakingly admits 'I didn't recognise myself' READ MORE: Amy Dowden says Strictly Come Dancing partner is 'part of family' after 'moving in' Now the three of them are on the road as part of the Strictly Come Dancing Live! arena tour. Taking to her Instagram stories on Thursday, Amy shared a video with the caption: "POV you're in the first ever tour throuple and your partners are trying to convince you to dance with them on tour." It showed both Amy and Lauren miming to the words of Wicked's Defying Gravity telling JB "So if you care to find me..." On Tuesday, Amy headed over to her social media account to recognise World Cancer Day. She wrote: "WORLD CANCER DAY. supporting those living with cancer, those supporting their loved one's affected by cancer, admiring the survivors, honoring those we have lost, and never, ever GIVING UP. Urging her followers to pay attention to their bodies, she added: "Please check yourself, and if you notice any changes in your body or how you feel, please book an appointment with your GP! "Forever grateful to the Drs, nurses, paramedics, NHS, researchers, volunteers, charities and to all those individuals who have helped and supported me! "Since those words in 2023, 'sorry Amy it's cancer', my life will never be the same. But I'm So grateful to those above who saved me, made me stronger and even more determined! Welsh love to all those affected by cancer especially those finding today tough! #worldcancerday #mycancerjourney. Several of Amy's followers flooded the comment section with warm messages of support. One person wrote: "You are the most incredible woman! Forever in awe of you, love watching you back doing what you love." A second person commented: "You are such an inspiration and have shown amazing strength. I've had several friends that have been through cancer and my sister has just had removal of lump last week so just a waiting game now." A third also said: "Your story will always save many lives, you are a fighter, and an amazing human being all around. we have so much love for you. and im extremely glad your back doing what you love." Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is available to watch on BBC IPlayer.
