Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Márquez has shared an update on the 2024 series.
The professional dancer will be returning to the dance floor for the upcoming series, with his name confirmed in the Strictly 2024 professional line-up shared in June.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy promoting his new live tour Speakeasy with co-star Karen Hauer, Gorka shared the official start date of the professionals' show training.
Related: Strictly's Karen Hauer addresses show future after reaching milestone
"Yeah next month, literally the 24th [July]," he told us.
Fellow Strictly star Karen shared her excitement at being back with her dance colleagues, but said they haven't been apart for long.
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"Oh my god it's funny because we just finished the pro tour," she said. "So they're like: 'Okay, now you're gonna have a little bit of time away from each other because you spent all year together'. But yeah, we're back soon. It's great, the cast is great and we're just really looking forward to seeing everybody again."
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The BBC is yet to share details of the official Strictly Come Dancing 2024 start date, but have promised an autumn release window. Based on our knowledge of previous series, it's expected that Strictly will be back on screens in mid-to-late September.
Fans are also eagerly awaiting details of which celebrities will be taking part in this year's series, which are yet to be announced by the broadcaster.
Rumoured stars include former England football player and I'm a Celebrity winner Jill Scott, EastEnders star Shona McGarty and BBC newsreader Clive Myrie.
Related: Strictly's Kai Widdrington and Nadiya Bychkova mark "end of another chapter"
Both Gorka and Karen confirmed that even they do not know the identities of this year's celebrity cast.
"The thing is with Strictly is it's such a big show and it has been running for so many years," Gorka told Digital Spy. "They try to keep everything under the rug as much as possible to keep the magic and the surprise.
"Even with us, people think we know the celebs but we don't find out the celebs until the same day as the public," he said. "You know the day they get announced in the media, that's the day when we know it."
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Following the 2024 series, Karen and Gorka will be hitting the road in February 2025 with their new dance tour Speakeasy. The pros will perform at venues all across the UK including Blackpool, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Cardiff and many more.
The tour will end with a special one-night-only performance at a theatre in London's West End. Details of this are set to be announced at a later date.
Tickets for Speakeasy can be bought via SEE Tickets.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
