Strictly Come Dancing's first live show is taking place tonight, with a whole new host of celebrities and their professional dance partners taking to the dance floor to compete for the glitter ball trophy, but one professional dancer we won't be seeing make much of an appearance this year is Gorka Marquez - here's why.
Gorka is one of the longest serving Strictly professional dancers, having joined the show in 2016, and is beloved by the Strictly audience. Over the years he's competed with a number of celebrities and reached the final three times, the first in 2017 with singer Alexandra Burke, the second time in 2020 with Eastenders actress Maisie Smith and most recently in 2022 with presenter Helen Skelton.
So why has Gorka not got a celebrity partner this year? Here's what to know.
Why does Gorka not have a partner in this year's Strictly Come Dancing?
Ahead of the return of Strictly Come Dancing this year Gorka announced he would not be having a celebrity partner this season, but it's for a very exciting reason.
The dancer is currently serving as a judge on season two of Bailando Con Las Estrellas aka the Spanish version of Strictly Come Dancing.
And therefore because of his filming commitments as a judge it means he won't be able to compete as a partner. However, we will still see him on our screens during the shows' group professional numbers as these are often filmed ahead of the series beginning and he also clarified he would be back for the live shows towards the ends of the year.
Gorka shared the exciting announcement on his Instagram back in August explaining: "I am Happy to announce that I will be back for season two of BAILANDO CON LAS ESTRELLAS as a judge from September.
"Due to the filming dates this means that I won’t be competing with a partner this year in Strictly but I will be a part of lots of the group numbers and will be back for final weeks of the show to support the rest of my fellow pros and their celebrities in what is going to be an AMAZING SERIES. 🪩 As always thank you for all the love and support❤️🙏 and remember! Keep dancing!!! 🪩🕺"
We're so happy to hear Gorka will be back on our screens.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 27th September on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
