The curse of Strictly Come Dancing has become legendary among fans of the celebrity talent show and now there’s another couple to add to the list.
Former Emmerdale star Gemma Atkinson, 32, may be partnered with Aljaz Scorjanec, 27, but she is said to have caught the eye of another professional dancer, Gorka Marquez, 27.
That’s good news all round for Aljaz, who is married to fellow Strictly pro Janette Manrara, but it may not be such a happy event for Gorka’s celebrity dance partner, Alexandra Burke, who, insiders say, believes it could affect her chances of winning the show.
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Gorka has been training for the show away from Alexandra on occasion, choosing instead to join fitness fanatic Gemma for a hardcore gym session.
Their close friendship has caused such a stir that Gorka felt obliged to clarify the situation, claiming that the pair are no more than friends.
“We hang out together and do some workouts and I think she is beautiful, but we are just friends,” he told The Daily Star.
If there is more to it than that, then their relationship would mark the first time in Strictly history that romance has blossomed between a contestant and somebody who isn’t their dance partner.
In the past, Strictly has seen all kinds of relationships and break-ups, including Ben Cohen leaving his wife for partner Kristina Rihanoff (although they insist they got together after the show, and his marriage, ended), Jimi Mistry marrying Flavia Cacace, and Rachel Riley getting together with Pasha Kovalev.
Talk of the affair between Gemma and Gorka hasn’t stopped her having fun with partner Aljaz though, and the pair pulled off an impressive performance in Saturday’s Movie Week show.
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Taking The Jungle Book as inspiration, Gemma dressed as panther Bagheera, with Aljaz as Baloo the bear as they danced the Charleston to The Bare Necessities, winning a score of 31.
Meanwhile, Gorka and Alexandra did even better, bagging 33 points for their American Smooth to Wouldn’t It Be Loverly from My Fair Lady.
Gemma and Aljaz gave such an energetic performance that one of Aljaz’s costume ears even fell off in the middle. Maybe he’s just had an earful about all of these rumours!