Gorka Marquez and Gemma Atkinson first met on Strictly in 2017. Eight years later, the couple, who are engaged, have two children, and have a new podcast, reveal the “beautiful chaos” of it all…
After just a short time in their company, it’s clear they’re very different as people, but work perfectly together. Radio DJ Gemma Atkinson, 40, and pro dancer Gorka Márquez, 35, are an entertaining double act, with Gemma’s straight-talking, northern humour and Gorka’s quiet, laidback Spanish charm. The couple, who got engaged in 2021, are based in Manchester, but Gorka often travels for work — this year he’s regularly in Spain, as a judge on the Spanish version of Strictly .
The pair met when Gemma took part in Strictly in 2017. Their relationship was a slow burn, but they fell for each other and are now parents to two children, Mia, six, who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, and two-year-old Thiago. Elements of navigating their daily lives often get lost in translation (hence the name of their new podcast, Lost In Translation), which makes for some hilarious moments. Here, they open up exclusively to OK! about working together, their little ones following in their footsteps and the habits that annoy each other…
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Hello, Gemma and Gorka! This year, are you glued to Strictly?
Gemma: Every Saturday. It’s the proper countdown to Christmas, for us. It’s also a good excuse not have to go out on a Saturday night!
You two were bound to be together, wasn’t it?
Gorka: Oh no, but she actually made me work for it!
Gemma: Nothing good comes naturally, as my mother would put it. It’s always nice to remember how everything began. Since joining Strictly in 2014, I’ve watched the live performances twice, and Elstree always has that warm feeling in my heart.
Gorka: Me and you are the beginning.
Gemma: It’s lovely. Seeing Aljaž [Škorjanec] and Janette [Manrara] with little Lyra-Rose, Neil Jones has Havana, and Dianne [Buswell] is going to have a little one…
Gorka: It’s crazy that Neil and Alja were about to marry when I first started Strictly. Everyone is grown up, including Diane, who I also worked on cruise ships. After a performance, we used to go out, but now we have to return home so we can have breakfast with our kids the following day.
Gemma, you almost didn’t do it; it could be that your life is completely different now.
Gemma: Yes! I initially said no. It was my first job that allowed me to commute in less than 40 minutes while I was working on radio. I was able to continue living my life. My agent called me about two weeks later and said, “Hun, this Strictly thing, can you just think about it?” I knew it had to be rejected. She suggested spending a week there and thinking about it when I went to Jason Vale’s juice retreat. I did it, too.
What caused you to change?
When I got to my room at the retreat, Oprah’s autobiography was on the side table. I picked it up and it fell open to a page with just one big quote, “If you have a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you choose to dance.” I thought, maybe I’m meant to do this. So I messaged my agent and said yes, I’ll do it. Just don’t ask me again or I’ll change my mind!
Wow, what a moment of real sliding doors…
Gemma: We weren’t aware that Gorks and I were there at the same time a year earlier. The Bahamas was where we were. There is a bar called Seor Frog’s that overlooks the ocean where I went on vacation. A cruise ship is close to shore, and there is a video of me and my friend dancing there.
Gorka: How incredible is it that I worked on that ship?
What details do you have for our new podcast?
Gemma: From our reality TV show, we had lovely feedback about how normal, mundane tasks and chaotic school runs could turn into something fun and relatable. So Lost In Translation is like an audio version of that. Each week, we each message our producer individually about what’s annoyed us about each other and then have a debate about it.
You also help each week solve a listener’s conundrum…
Gemma: Yes, we do. A listener by the name of Sophie was the first. She had just moved in with her boyfriend and was experiencing stomach pain because she was afraid to go poo in the apartment! We play silly games, and we look at the differences between Spanish and English.
What degree of chaos does that mix of cultures engender?
Gorka: It always occurs. Gemma would laugh and make me realize that I’m wet p****d through when I used to say, “I’m p***d wet through.”
Gemma: There are no small things. Growing up, I would have chippy tea with gravy or cheese pie every Friday. On chips, vinegar. This absolutely repulses Gorka.
How is a cheese-filled puff pastry pie eaten? !
Gemma: Thiago also adores them. He prefers them over anything else.
Gorka: Gemma doesn’t consume red meat, but I do bring home a sizable Spanish leg of ham at Christmas. Although it’s amazing, Gemma says, “Get that thing out of the house!”
Are the kids studying Spanish?
Gemma and Mia read Spanish together. His father speaks Spanish, and I’m there trying my hardest, “Hola!” as his parents don’t speak English, so when we FaceTime, his father says “Hola!” For children, it’s different. Gorka’s mother last visited Spain, so we could spend a day in Madrid. They were dancing and laughing when we returned four hours later.
Gorka: It’s irrelevant because they were having a wonderful time.
What about each other irritates you?
Gorka: I’m a perfectionist, Gemma’s messy, and I’m a perfectionist.
Gemma: My entire life has been spent folding socks incorrectly. I simply fold them, done. Gorka enjoys them tucked in completely, the bottom to the top, next to each other.
Do Mia and Thiago exhibit any dancing-related traits?
Gemma: They have musicality. Mia has a dancing craze. Thiago already sings in tune, and he has a good ear. He adores The Greatest Showman and plays the drum precisely when it’s needed.
Gorka and I were dancing in the kitchen this morning while we were playing music. I adore those moments.
The Rayo app, Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify, or any other service where you can find podcasts is where you can find them.
Source: Mirror
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