Kevin Clifton and Gorka Marquez are some of the most popular stars of Strictly Come Dancing, however rumours suggest they are far from favoured with each other
Strictly’s Gorka Marquez reveals he’s ‘sad’ over Giovanni’s exit
Strictly Come Dancing was previously famed for its squeaky-clean family-friendly reputation – but there were signs of simmering tensions before things boiled over.
The BBC Saturday night show has been thrown into turmoil in recent months following allegations of ‘abusive’ behaviour from professional dancers. Scillian star Graziano Di Prima has been ditched from the upcoming series following claims he ‘kicked and spat’ at his co-star Zara McDermott.
The decision was made hours after the broadcaster watched ‘distressing’ footage of the two in rehearsals. Meanwhile axed Giovanni Pernice has been forced to vehementally deny claims he was ‘abusive’ in training sessions with his amateur partner Amanda Abbington.
But it isn’t the first time feuds have reportedly brewed behind the scenes, as rumours swirled that former professional Kevin Clifton and Gorka Marquez, who is in the line-up for this year’s upcoming series, were far from the best of friends. After winning the hearts of the nation with his moves alongside Katie Piper in 2018, Gorka made no secret of his disappointment when he wasn’t matched up in the following series.
And when footballer Alex Scott’s professional partner, Neil Jones, injured himself in training, he was even more miffed he wasn’t chosen to replace him. Instead, Strictly bosses opted for 2018 winner, Kevin Clifton, who had been left without a partner when Aneka Rice was voted off a few weeks earlier.
Gorka let his feelings be known by retweeting a series of angry fan messages including one that read, “Gorka deserved it not Kevin who already had a partner this year.” “Should have be Gorks not King Kev,” read another.
Rumours started to swirl that all was not well between the two professional dancers in August 2019, when Kevin ignored Gorka’s ‘demotion’ but sent messages of comfort to their co-star Graziano, who was in the same boat. Referencing his sister Joanna Clifton, Kevin tweeted his support to Garziano, writing, “Mate, my sister was the same in her second series.
“In her third series she won! You’re one of the best dancers I know so get ready to OWN 2020!” But when Gorka tweeted about his own lack of partner, fans noticed there was radio silence from Kevin.
However, it looked like Gorka had the last laugh in 2020 as Kevin announced he was quitting Strictly. And following the news of Kevin’s departure, it was once again announced Gorka would be ‘promoted’ to have a celeb partner again.
Gorka wasted no time in letting his fans know how happy he was. Posing with his baby daughter, Gorka wrote on Instagram : “I’M BACK ON @bbcstrictly for my 5th series. I think Mia is even more excited than me!! #keepdancing.”
