Strictly star in shock quit U-turn after BBC bosses convince them to stay

STRICTLY Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez has performed a U-turn on quitting the show after the Beeb persuaded him to stay.

The Spanish dancer was said to have had the “seven-year itch” by the end of the last series.

He was also visibly upset when he finished second in the final with Helen Skelton.

But Gorka, 32, was convinced to sign up for the BBC1 show’s 21st series by producers.

A TV insider said: “There was no ill feeling between him and the bosses of Strictly, he simply felt like he’d been with the show for a long time and had never enjoyed a victory.

"So he’s spent the last four months mulling over his future and, despite the disappointment of defeat last year, is still in love with the show.

The source added: “Unlike other stars on the programme, he didn’t feel the need to have a drawn-out wrangle with the BBC over pay, and they offered him a deal which he was happy with.

“Unlike other pros who’ve left Strictly prematurely and not enjoyed the success they’d hoped for, Gorka realises how fortunate he is to be on the biggest show on TV, along with the lucrative spin-off work that comes with it.”

Gorka is engaged to soap star Gemma Atkinson, 38, who is pregnant with their second child.

The couple already have a three-year-old daughter called Mia.

He finished second for the third time in six attempts on Strictly last year after viewers decided Hamza Yassin should take home the Glitterball trophy with Jowita Przystal.

Viewers later commented on the fact he had a face like thunder as the results were announced in December.

The pay of pros on the show has been frozen this year amid the cost-of-living crisis and the freeze on the BBC’s licence fee level.

The Beeb has also told the judges, Shirley Ballas, Anton du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood, they are only getting modest increases, despite all four demanding inflation-busting rises.

The BBC and Gorka declined to comment.