Gorka Márquez
Gorka Márquez (Spanish: [ˈgoɾ.ka 'maɾ.keθ]; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show Strictly Come Dancing.[1]
Gorka Márquez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gorka Márquez 4 September 1990 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing |
| Partner | Gemma Atkinson |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the World Latin Championships, before reaching the semi-finals of the 2012 World DanceSport Federation World Cup.[2][3] In 2014, Márquez joined the touring live dance show Burn the Floor as one of their leads, performing with the dance company all over the world.[4]
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2016 Márquez became a professional dancer on the BBC ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing for its fourteenth series. He was partnered with EastEnders actress Tameka Empson, and they were eliminated in week three of the competition.[5]
In 2017, he returned in the show's fifteenth series. He was partnered with singer and former The X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke. They reached the final, finishing as joint runners-up.[5] With Burke, Márquez holds the record for achieving the most tens in a single series with 32, surpassing Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse’s previous record of 26 tens.[6]
In 2018 he participated in the show's sixteenth series, where he was partnered with television presenter and campaigner Katie Piper. The couple were eliminated in week four of the competition, finishing in 13th place.[5]
The following year, Márquez announced that he had been demoted from the main professional line-up, but explained that he would still participate in the weekly group dances.[7]
In 2020 Márquez returned as a professional for the show's eighteenth series, reaching the final with EastEnders actress Maisie Smith.[8]
In 2021 he returned in the show's nineteenth series, reaching week three with Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn.[9]
In 2022, he returned in the show's twentieth series, reaching the final with television presenter Helen Skelton.
In 2023 he was partnered with Nikita Kanda and in week 3 were the second couple to be eliminated.
Highest and lowest scores
| Series | Partner | Place | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Tameka Empson | 14th | 27.7 |
| 15 | Alexandra Burke | 2nd | 36.4 |
| 16 | Katie Piper | 13th | 17.5 |
| 18 | Maisie Smith | 2nd | 36.4 |
| 19 | Katie McGlynn | 14th | 22.3 |
| 20 | Helen Skelton | 2nd | 34.0 |
| 21 | Nikita Kanda | 14th | 19.0 |
Highest and lowest scores per dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Katie McGlynn | 24 |
| Argentine Tango | Alexandra Burke | 38 | Helen Skelton | 37 |
| Cha-Cha-Cha | Alexandra Burke | 39 | Helen Skelton | 27 |
| Charleston | Alexandra Burke | 39 | Nikita Kanda | 18 |
| Couple's Choice | Maisie Smith Helen Skelton |
40 | Helen Skelton | 39 |
| Foxtrot | Helen Skelton | 32 | Katie Piper | 22 |
| Jive | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Katie Piper | 18 |
| Paso Doble | Alexandra Burke | 36 | Katie Piper | 13 |
| Quickstep | Alexandra Burke Helen Skelton Maisie Smith |
39 | ||
| Rumba | Alexandra Burke | 32 | ||
| Salsa | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Helen Skelton | 32 |
| Samba | Maisie Smith | 39 | Helen Skelton | 29 |
| Showdance | Maisie Smith | 40 | Helen Skelton | 37 |
| Something-A-Thon | Alexandra Burke | 7 | ||
| Tango | Alexandra Burke | 35 | Katie McGlynn | 22 |
| Viennese Waltz | Alexandra Burke Maisie Smith |
39 | Helen Skelton | 31 |
| Waltz | Helen Skelton | 35 | Katie Piper | 17 |
Series 14: with Tameka Empson
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Paso Doble / "Y Viva España" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | No elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango / "The Heat is On" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Eliminated |
Series 15: with Alexandra Burke
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 24 | No elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "Ven a Bailar" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "Proud Mary" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba / "Shape of You" | 7 | 8 | 8 | - | 23 | Safe |
| 6 | Tango / "Maneater" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Safe |
| 7 | Cha-cha-cha / "I've Got the Music in Me" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 8 | Argentine Tango / "Mi Confesión" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 9 | Quickstep / "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 10 | Rumba / "Halo" Paso Doble-a-thon / "España cañí" |
7 Awarded |
8 7 |
8 extra |
9 points |
32 39 |
Bottom two |
| 11 | Charleston / "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Bottom two |
| 12 | Viennese Waltz / "Everybody Hurts" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| Salsa / "Finally" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | ||
| 13 | American Smooth / "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Runner-up |
| Showdance / "There's No Business Like Show Business" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||
| Jive / "Proud Mary" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | ||
Series 16: with Katie Piper
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "When We Were Young" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 | No elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "Confident" | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 | Safe |
| 3 | Foxtrot / "City of Stars" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 22 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | Eliminated |
Series 18: with Maisie Smith
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
| Horwood | Ballas | Mabuse/du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Samba / "Samba (Conga)" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | No elimination |
| 2 | Tango / "Midnight Sky" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Into the Unknown" | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 | Bottom two |
| 5 | Salsa / "Better When I'm Dancin'" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Bottom two |
| 6 | Quickstep / "When You're Smiling" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Safe |
| 7 | Jive / "Little Shop of Horrors" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | Safe |
| 8 | Street / "Gettin' Jiggy with It" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
| Viennese Waltz / "A Thousand Years" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | ||
| 9 | Samba / "Samba (Conga)" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Runner-Up |
| Showdance / "We Need A Little Christmas" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
| Quickstep/ "When You're Smiling" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | ||
Series 19: with Katie McGlynn
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "Black Hole" | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 22 | No elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "Good 4 U" | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 21 | Bottom two |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Cruella de Vil" | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | Eliminated |
Series 20: with Helen Skelton
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | American Smooth / "You Send Me" | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha-cha / "Rain on Me" | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 27 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese waltz / "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble / "Tamacun" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 5 | Charleston / "Barnacle Bill" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot / "Lil' Red Riding Hood" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 32 | Safe |
| 7 | Jive / "Tightrope" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | Safe |
| 8 | Salsa / "Despacito" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe |
| 9 | Quickstep / "Valerie" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 10 | Samba / "Eso Beso" | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 11 | Couple's Choice / "Mein Herr" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 12 | Waltz / "Only One Road" Argentine Tango / "Here Comes the Rain Again" |
8 9 |
9 10 |
9 8 |
9 10 |
35 37 |
Safe |
| 13 | Jive / "Tightrope" Showdance / "Shine" Couple's Choice / "Mein Herr" |
9 8 10 |
10 10 10 |
10 9 10 |
10 10 10 |
39 37 40 |
Runner-up |
Series 21: with Nikita Kanda
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "Run to You" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | No elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | Bottom two |
| 3 | Jive / "Kids in America" | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 21 | Eliminated |
Dance tours and other professional engagements
In August 2023 Márquez announced he would be teaching & performing with Karen Hauer at Donahey's 2024 Dancing with The Stars Weekends.[10]
Personal life
As of 2023, Márquez is engaged to British actress Gemma Atkinson. Atkinson gave birth to a baby girl, Mia, on 4 July 2019. Their son, Thiago Thomas, was born in July 2023. The couple announced their engagement on 14 February 2021.[11][12][13]
References
- "Gorka Márquez – BBC Strictly Come Dancing Professional Dancer". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- "BBC Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – 2016 Strictly Professional Dancer line up revealed!". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Ranking of the WDSF Latin Adult in Riga - Latvia on 15 December 2012". worlddancesport.org. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- "2016 Strictly Professional Dancer line up revealed!". BBC. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - Gorka Marquez". BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- Pearce, Tilly (19 December 2020). "Where is Gorka Marquez from and is the Strictly dancer married?". Metro. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- "Strictly professional Gorka Marquez receives bad news about this year's series". Digital Spy. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- "Gorka Marquez - Becca Barr Management". www.beccabarrmanagement.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- "Strictly Come Dancing - Series 19: Launch Show". 18 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Amazing 5* Breaks with the stars of BBC Strictly Come Dancing". www.donaheys.co.uk.
- @gorka_marquez (6 July 2019). "Our beautiful baby daughter arrived on Thursday 4th July and myself and Gem couldn't be happier 💗💗💗" – via Instagram.
- @gorka_marquez (14 February 2021). "I asked and she said YES!!!!!! 💍" – via Instagram.
- "Gemma Atkinson reveals challenges of raising baby Mia and lockdown life with Gorka Marquez - exclusive". HELLO!. 19 July 2020.