Gorka Marquez has confessed that he feels “everyone is looking at him more closely” following the Strictly Come Dancing scandal.
The scandal was fuelled by several complaints from Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice, which led to a BBC investigation. Six out of 17 allegations were substantiated. However, it’s understood Giovanni felt some relief as the gravest accusations weren’t upheld.
Meanwhile, Graziano di Prima made an exit from the competition when he acknowledged he kicked his dance partner Zara McDermott during practice. He said: “I didn’t deliberately hurt anyone. I am not a monster. I am not an abusive man.”
On Lorraine this morning, Gorka Marquez commented on the recent turmoil within the show. When quizzed by Lorraine Kelly about the increased scrutiny, she mentioned: “Have you felt the pressure of more scrutiny on the show? Because you know people are obsessed about this show so everything you do makes headlines.”
To this, Gorka responded: “You know, this year, maybe everybody is looking at you with more close eyes, but I feel every day is the same you know. This show is one of the biggest shows on television and everybody loves the show and wants to see what happens and I think, dancers and celebrities, they have a huge impact on everyone that watches it but for me, right now, we’re just focusing on the dance. It’s 20 years of the show, let’s celebrate.”
In another show of solidarity over the weekend, Gorka defended his partner Dr Punam, who seemed on the verge of tears after harsh criticism from the judges had their score tumble from an impressive 33 down to 20 out of a possible 40 points.
While she was ready to acknowledge her own slip-ups, Gorka jumped to her defence, reports the Express. He commented: “Obviously, she’s not a dancer, she’s not a performer, she’s a GP. She doesn’t do anything that has to do with performing in front of millions of people. So just to go out there and be on stage is incredible.”
Gorka has candidly shared the challenges that come with Strictly, confessing that being apart from his family has been tough. He’s currently relocated to Glasgow for training sessions with Dr Punam, which means being a considerable distance from his home in Manchester.
He confessed he was “having a moment that sometimes we hide or keep for ourselves, especially being a man”. Gorka continued: “YES it is. But at the same time, I get a feeling of sadness, guilt, for going away for however long it is. A feeling of letting them down for not being there, a sense of failure to them.”
*Strictly Come Dancing airs weekends on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.