Strictly Come Dancing star Helen Skelton has opened up about how it has been “really difficult” for her to be without Gorka Marquez for the Strictly tour.
As fans may recall, Helen was partnered with Gorka during the competition, and together they went all the way to the finals. It was then revealed a short while later that he would be missing out on the tour.
Speaking to The Sun about doing the tour without her partner, she said: “It's really difficult not to be with Gorka because we're such good friends.
Related: Strictly’s Dianne responds to Joe split claims
"I've been asking him for advice a lot, so it feels like he's here. I'd have loved for him to do it, but it's almost like he's in the group,” she continued.
"It's such a tight-knit group in the studio anyway. We all talked and all had a laugh. So it's different, but it wasn't a worry and like 'Oh my god, what's going to happen?'.
"We knew each other from the series, we all hung out and spoke a lot. I was very lucky Kai [Widdrington] was able to do it,” she added.
Related: Strictly’s Gorka explains why he’s not going on tour
Besides the fact that Helen has to get used to dancing with a completely new partner, she’s also had to adjust with the height difference. Her new partner Kai is 6’1", while Gorka is 5’6".
Speaking about why he’s skipping the tour, Gorka told Metro: “After the Strictly series I always like to take some downtime to spend quality time with Gem [partner Gemma Atkinson] and [daughter] Mia.
“I am grateful for the work but I also think spending time with family is important. Time flies and we won’t get these memories back,” he added.
Strictly Come Dancing returns later this year on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two will air on weeknights next year on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.
Interested in talking about Strictly Come Dancing? Visit our dedicated sub-forum
![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=320%3A%2A "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=320%3A%2A "Strictly Come Dancing: Shirley and Craig's Perfect 10 [DVD]")
![Strictly Come Dancing – Strictly Fit: Dance Fit [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1619471388-511DbekkqyL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "Strictly Come Dancing – Strictly Fit: Dance Fit [DVD]")
![Strictly Come Dancing: Anton's Truly Madly Strictly [DVD] [2019]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1575064108-511rx3JiYnL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "Strictly Come Dancing: Anton's Truly Madly Strictly [DVD] [2019]")
![Strictly Come Dancing - Bruno's Bellissimo Blackpool [DVD] [2018]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1560931698-51WFsIDipgL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "Strictly Come Dancing - Bruno's Bellissimo Blackpool [DVD] [2018]")
