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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Helen Skelton not 'letting it go' as she pays last tribute to Strictly 'wingman' Gorka Marquez before ditching him for new partner

Helen Skelton has refused any calls for her to 'let it go' as she took another look back at her time on Strictly Come Dancing. It is almost a month since the Countryfile host made it to the final of the 2022 run of the BBC One dance contest.

After weeks of performing in the ballroom under the critical eyes of the judges and the millions watching at home, Helen and her dance partner Gorka Marquez faced Fleur East and Vito Coppola, Hamza Yassin and Jowita Prytzal, and Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu in a fight for the Glitterball trophy.

But after performing three routines in the final, it wasn't to be and the public chose Hamza and Jowita as their Strictly 2022 winners. Despite not walking away with the coveted trophy, Helen has shared nothing but positive messages about her time on the hit show and has again taken to social media with a fresh post.

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Helen, 39, has posted a fresh video to social media featuring plenty of pictures and videos from the Strictly final, which took place on December 17. "As the frozen Princess said LET IT GO. but before I do, I’m posting this flash back to the strictly final for three reasons," she started the caption of her post before going through each reason.

"One it’s taken me this long to work out the drop box/video clip situation. (Yep totally technically inept)," Helen first admitted before turning her attnetion to Gorka, 32. She typed: "Two: there’s about to be a whole lot of strictly tour spam that doesn’t involve @gorka_marquez and I need to mark this chapter with an acknowledgment and appreciation of my wingman."

The mum-of-three went on: "Three: These are memories that make me smile and sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of hindsight to really appreciate what went down on and off the dance floor. So before the tour starts one big final virtual high five and bucket of respect to @fleureast @vitocoppola @mollyrainford @gkx_carlos @jowitaprzystal @hamzayassin90 @gorka_marquez that was some ride we had. Cheers to the memories and the moments I will treasure."

It comes just weeks before Helen is set to hit the road with many of her Strictly co-stars as they go on tour. The Strictly Come Dancing live tour, which will be at Manchester's AO Arena later this month, will see finalists Helen, Fleur, and Molly joined by winner Hamza as well as Will Mellor, Ellie Simmonds and Tyler West back in their dancing prime as they take in venues across the country.

However, Helen will be getting a new dance partner. It was confirmed before Christmas that Gorka won't be joining the Strictly gang again this year, after also missing the tour last year, and instead, his celebrity partner will dance with new partner Kai Widdrington.

But following Helen's latest post, it appears Gorka is full of support for Helen. "Thank you for the memories!" he typed in the comments before adding: "I can’t wait to see you dancing again on tour." Fans, meanwhile, were again full of praise for the TV star.

@ljacardiff said: "You absolute QUEEN! Showing dignity and grace! You should be so proud of yourself. You totally blossomed and it was an honour to watch. #singlemumsrock." @meganmawx wrote: "oh I love this so so much - what an absolute ride you all had memories to last you all a lifetime. So excited for live tour & to see you all together again."

@emmafergie90 posted: "Aww this makes me emotional. Such an amazing series with you all. It’s a shame you’re not dancing with Gorka on tour but I’m sure you’ll have a great time with Kai." @ritabennett69 added: "You should be very proud of how far you’ve come, on and off the dance floor, go forward, no looking back."

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