Strictly Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez has many reasons to be "proud" of partner Gemma Atkinson — her training for the show's Christmas special is just one of them.
The pair team up every day in real life, but will be coupling up on the ballroom floor on Christmas Day as they try to bring home the festive Glitterball trophy.
When Digital Spy and other media recently chatted with them about the Strictly Christmas special, Gorka beamed about how much he admires the new mum.
"It's just for fun and I'm proud of her already," he assured us. "It's only five months since she gave birth, and she's doing a jive, which is a hard dance! She's jumping all over the chair."
The pro added: "She did the hardest thing in life, which is give birth. She can handle the judges."
Returning to the ballroom only a few months after giving birth sounds like a daunting challenge, but Gemma seems more than up to the task.
What to Read Next
"I feel good," she told us. "I feel guilty not being at home because this is the longest I've been away from her. It's been three days, two-and-a-half days… She doesn't even know I'm not there, probably.
"You kinda feel more confident in that everything you used to think mattered, doesn't [matter] now. I always think, as soon as you wake up, right, my concern is Mia and Gorka. I used to worry about stuff that now I'm like, 'Whatever!'"
As for her dance routine, Gemma explained: "It's the jive. The dance I struggled with the most when I did the first series was the jive because it's so full-on.
"My cardio fitness isn't what it was before. It's still alright, but half-way through the dance, he's going, 'Keep going!'"
Strictly Come Dancing 2019 aired on BBC One, and returns for a Christmas special on Christmas Day (December 25) at 4.40pm.
![Strictly Come Dancing - Motsi & Anton's Strictly The Best [DVD] [2021]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1636376452-51-wTB4ZAL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Strictly Come Dancing - Motsi & Anton's Strictly The Best [DVD] [2021]")
![Strictly Come Dancing: Shirley and Craig's Perfect 10 [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1602857040-51TXVDJudnL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Strictly Come Dancing: Shirley and Craig's Perfect 10 [DVD]")
Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
