Gemma Atkinson talks for the first time about the Strictly romance that kept us all guessing and how Oprah changed her life
GEMMA Atkinson can at long last breathe a sigh of relief, because after months of are-they-aren’t-they speculation, the answer is yes. Yes, they most definitely are!
The actress finally confirmed her romance with Strictly pro Gorka Márquez with a simple Instagram post on Valentine’s Day, which featured a picture of the pair on holiday accompanied by the characteristically straightforward message: “Here’s to many more, kid.”
Opening up about the relationship for the first time, she says: “We were never hiding anything, but now that we’ve said: ‘Yes, we are together and we’re very happy,’ we can all just get on with it and things can calm down a bit.
“And it’s nice to be able to say he’s my boyfriend.
We had that awkward stage where you’re dating but you haven’t had ‘the conversation’. But the papers were saying we were together, and you never want to say to a guy after three coffees: ‘So… what are we?’
At least now we can say: ‘Yes, we’re together,’ and so high-fives to us!’”
Gemma, 33, insists that love only blossomed after the show had finished, although a playful, flirtatious friendship with the potential to become something more had clearly developed long before that.
“We only saw each other for the live show at weekends, and what was happening with me and Gorka was the last thing on our minds – well, on my mind anyway!
“We’d go for coffee together on the Sunday after the show, but had never really spent more than two hours together. Even every week over six months, that’s not enough time to get to know someone.
I couldn’t have contemplated a relationship while the show was on, it was just too stressful.
“So it was a gradual thing. There was no lightning-bolt moment, unfortunately. Not like in the movies. When the show finished we could hang out and spend time together away from it all. We spent New Year’s Eve together, which was lovely, and then we went on the tour…”
It was on the Strictly tour that well-meaning co-stars gently prodded them into making things official.
“Some of the pros were saying: ‘What is it then? Are you together?’ And we looked at each other and said: ‘Well, yeah we are.’”
She’s a tough cookie, is Gemma – instantly likeable and with a dry wit and pragmatic, uncomplicated approach to life.
But she visibly softens when talking about Gorka – or Gorks, as she calls him – and it’s impossible not to feel chuffed to bits for them both.
“He’s just a really good person,” she says. “He’s got a great outlook on life and he’s very funny.
You don’t get to see that side of him on the show, but he’s very easy-going and very caring and always makes sure I’m OK – an old-school gentleman but with the qualities of a mate as well. So it’s like your best mate who you can’t keep your hands off.”
She laughs and adds: “Which is a great foundation for a relationship.”
Well, quite!
“I’ve never had the friendship thing before. I’ve always met a guy and started dating. But this way round, to say I’ve got with my friend, someone who has been through the same experiences – it’s good!”
The relationship will have to be a long-distance one for the foreseeable, with Bury-born-and-bred Gemma living in the North West, where she co-hosts the breakfast show on Manchester’s Key 103 radio station, and Gorka, 27, based in London for his dance commitments.
But Gemma insists that won’t be an issue.
It’s like having a best mate you can’t keep your hands off
Gemma
“I’ve no problem with long-distance relationships,” she says. “Most of mine have been like that. I think it’s nice to miss somebody.
“I love the excitement of going to see someone when it’s been a few days or a week. We’re both fortunate in that neither of us have nine-to-five jobs, so we’ll meet in different places and I think that’ll keep it fresh.
“And I do need my own space. Some days Tom Hardy could walk in and I’d say: ‘I need some space, just give me a break!’ So for me it works out fine, I love it.”
The relationship is Gemma’s first since she split from personal trainer Olly Foster in 2016. And her mum, who she’s exceptionally close to, is just as smitten with Gorka.
“My mum’s like: ‘Finally!’ She thinks he’s lovely.
“I’ve been on my own for two years now. I’ve been on dates and stuff but nothing serious, and I wasn’t looking for anything.
“I liked the time on my own, going out with the girls, going on holiday – I genuinely liked being on my own and I was happy. And I think once you’re in a good place and you’re happy in yourself, then you attract the right people.
“If you’re constantly searching for someone, it doesn’t really work. You’ve got to be good on your own before you can be good with someone else.”
It’s not just a significant other that Gemma has emerged from Strictly with. She’s also gained a huge gang of new friends, including dance partner Aljaž Škorjanec and his wife Janette Manrara.
“I’ve genuinely got a mate for life in Aljaž,” she says. “I think he’s absolutely wonderful.”
Which makes it all the more incredible that she very nearly didn’t take the BBC up on its offer to join the show.
Happy with the quiet life after quitting Emmerdale early last year, Gemma, who first found fame on Hollyoaks as troubled teen Lisa Hunter back in 2001, wasn’t convinced she wanted to expose herself to the limelight of Strictly.
“I was umming and ahhing, and I told my agent I didn’t want to do it.
“My job on the radio is great because it’s near my home, I love it and I’m not ‘out there’ as much. I’d got used to the lifestyle where I wasn’t in the public eye as much, and I’d got really comfortable.
“I didn’t know if I wanted 15 million people to know who I was – I didn’t want the intrusion or the pressure of it.
“My agent told me to think about it. So I went away to Portugal with my mum and I was at a Jason Vale juice retreat. There was an Oprah Winfrey book in my room, and on the first page I opened there was a passage that read: ‘When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.’”
If that wasn’t a sign…
Some days Tom Hardy could walk in and I’d say: ‘I need some space, just give me a break!’
Gemma
“Exactly! I called my agent straight away and said: ‘I don’t need the week to think, sign me up.’ And as soon as I said yes, I had a feeling that I’d made the right decision.
“Had I not done it, knowing what I would have missed out on, I would have been gutted.”
That said, despite reaching the final with Aljaž and arguably making the most progress of all the contestants from start to finish, Gemma doesn’t have any plans to keeeeeep dancing.
“To be honest, I didn’t really fall in love with dancing,” she admits. “I loved the feeling of having completed the dance and it having gone really well, but I’m not going to carry on with it. I’ll go out with the girls and dance at weekends, but I’m not going to do classes.
When you’ve done Strictly it wouldn’t be the same – it’d be like going from climbing Mount Everest to, I dunno, climbing a stairwell! I had the best experience with the best teacher on the best show, and I’ll close that chapter with amazing memories.”
She’ll also take away a new-found confidence.
“If I can dance on live TV in front of millions of people... As soon as you’re out of your comfort zone and you’re suddenly not afraid of looking a bit silly, it’s quite liberating. I’ve taken that with me and I’m a lot more relaxed and confident. And I’m definitely better in heels! My mum’s happy about that.”
A couple of months ago, Gemma joked that she was the only contestant in the history of Strictly to have gained weight during the show. That, she says, was down to a combination of sacking off her usual weight-training regime at the gym and an Aljaž-inspired diet of pizza, giant Toblerones and all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets.
“I don’t really weigh myself, but my jeans felt tighter and the tops of my arms felt heavier. From my first dance to the show dance in the final – oh my god, I’d really put some weight on. I was never worried about it, though. We just used to laugh about it and my little chubby face.”
She’s lost it all again since getting back to the gym, where she works out four times a week. Strong, toned and healthy, she’s proud of her body and has learned to ignore the social media trolls who try to tear her down for daring to be a woman with muscle definition. Her bodyis awesome, by the way.
“Lads message me saying: ‘You’ve gone too far, you look like a man.’
I feel like saying: ‘Well, lift heavier and maybe you will too!’ Maybe they’re intimidated by a woman who is physically or mentally stronger than they are.”
She adds: “If you’re a guy who wants to say something nasty to a woman online, go home and say it to your mum first. I bet most of them wouldn’t.
“I think as I’ve got older, I’ve realised that it doesn’t really bother me what a stranger thinks. If it’s friends or a family member then I take it on board, but if a stranger has an opinion on how I look or dress then I just feel sorry for them.
Lads message me saying: ‘You’ve gone too far, you look like a man.’ I feel like saying: ‘Well, lift heavier and maybe you will too!’
Gemma
“I’m never going to be a petite size 8 – I’m 5ft 9in,
I’m broad and I’ve accepted that, and I like the way I am. As long as you’re healthy and you feel good, that’s what counts.
“So I love hearing from people that they’ve seen my Instagram or read an interview and as a result they’ve decided not to kill themselves every day just to fit a certain size jeans.”
She thinks back to around 10 years ago when, following her split from footballer Marcus Bent, she lost a lot of weight and felt terrible, yet people were telling her how fantastic she looked.
“It was the heartbreak diet, and I wasn’t healthy. I was tired and my skin was bad, but people were saying: ‘Oh my god, you look amazing,’ just because I was skinny. But I was so unhappy, and I think now I’m heavier I’m in such a better place and so much happier. It’s about knowing what is the best version of you rather than anyone else.”
As an actress, she would never touch her face with Botox or fillers, but she had a boob job in 2006 and has no regrets.
“I had them done because I lost weight through stress and not eating right and I wasn’t happy with how I looked. It made me feel more confident, and it was right for me. I absolutely love them now and I’d 1,000% do it again if they looked like they did back then.
“But you can’t win. Cos whenever someone says: ‘Ah, you look lovely,’ someone else will say: ‘Yeah, but she’s got fake tits.’ Come on, man!
“And if I hadn’t had them done they’d be saying: ‘Yeah, but she’s got saggy boobs.’ Sorry, Mr Perfect!
“The block button comes in very handy. I don’t even waste my energy on them.”
Gorka has become a useful gym buddy who helps motivate Gemma on lazy days, although sometimes she says they look at each other and decide to get a pizza instead of working out.
“It’s a good balance. I love the feeling of being fit, getting outside and hiking, just moving. I can’t stand it when I have a day of doing nothing. I love doing stuff with my body, even if it’s taking the dogs for a walk for a couple of hours.
“And I’m very much aware that you are what you eat. I like foods that make me feel good, like lean meats, greens and sweet potatoes. But I also like a pizza, a gin and tonic or a bar of chocolate, or some cheesecake.”
There are some yet-to-be-announced opportunities born out of Strictly that will keep Gemma busy for the rest of the year, and she “definitely” has plans to return to Emmerdale at some point.
“More than half my life has been in the public eye, but I’ve never classed myself as a celeb,” she says.
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“I live in the same town I was born in, I’ve got the same group of girlfriends and I love a green tea and a night in.”
She laughs at herself.
“Honestly,” she adds, “my life is so boring!”
- Catch Gemma on Key 103 Breakfast, weekdays 6-10am. Listen on FM and DAB in Manchester, online or via the app.
Feeling sociable
Favourite platform
Facebook.
I have a private account under an alias and it’s only got my school friends on there.
Funniest person on Twitter
Ricky Gervais. He’s so sarcastic and dry. I also love the fact he speaks up for animal rights.
Insta fave
The Rock. He’s got a great outlook on life. I’m not into people taking selfies all day.
How to take the perfect selfie
Don’t know, I’m terrible at them!
Additional photography: Instagram/Gemma Atkinson, Instagram/Gorka Marquez, BBC
Hair: Guy Kremer using L’Oréal Professionnel Tecni.Art
Make-up: Jo Bull using Urban Decay
Styling: Nana Acheampong
Gemma wears: body, tights, both Wolford; boots, Lamoda