Strictly Come Dancing hunk Gorka Marquez is so desperate not to leave pregnant Gemma Atkinson’s side he is begging show bosses to let him work with a celebrity who will keep him a stones throw from home.
The loved up 28-year-old is expecting his first ever child with 34-year-old Hollyoaks beauty Gemma - with the baby expected later this year.
And it seems he is anxious about being kept away from his beloved and their baby later this year when Strictly returns to screens for a 17th season.
But Gorks has a cunning plan up his sequinned sleeve - as reports abound that he is trying to twist the arms of show makers to land him a celeb pairing with someone from ‘oop north’ so he can be close to Gem in Manchester.
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"Gorka has pleaded with Strictly producers to put him with a northern-based star so he can be close to home,” a show source leaked to The Sun.
"By the time the show is on, Gemma will have given birth to their baby and he doesn't want to be too far from them,” the source continued.
"Strictly professionals are required to base themselves from Monday to Friday in the area where their celebrity lives. Obviously, if he's in the south or another far-flung location, it will be struggle to get back to them both,” the source said.
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Gorka and Gemma fell for each other when they performed on the 2017 edition of the long-running BBC dance show.
While the pair were not partnered together, it seemed the attraction between them was so strong it reverberated beyond their own dance partners.
Gemma was partnered with Aljaž Skorjanec that year - while Gorka was partnered with a reportedly jealous Alexandra Burke.
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The couple attempted to keep their bubbling romance under wraps - but by 2018, they broke cover and revealed they are indeed lovers.
In February this year, Gorka and Gemma warmed hearts when they revealed they would be becoming first time parents together.
Strictly Come Dancing will return to the BBC later this summer.
