One of Strictly Come Dancing‘s best-loved regular professionals, Gorka Marquez, will not be partnered with a celebrity in the 2025 series.
The Spanish dancer will be unable to compete despite being previously announced as part of the official line up back in April.
He will be totally absent for up to four weeks of the BBC show’s next run, set to launch in September, as he is appearing as a judge on the Spanish version of the competition, Bailando Con Las Estrellas, in October.
On Wednesday (6 August), the 34-year-old dancer, who debuted on the show in 2016, revealed that he would remain a part of the weekly ensemble routine, performed by all of the professionals, in the first few episodes of Strictly.
He will then leave to fulfill his commitments in Spain before returning to Strictly for the weekly group dance in the final stretch of the 2025 series.
Marquez wrote on X/Twitter: “Due to the filming dates, this means that I won’t be competing with a partner this year in Strictly but I will be a part of lots of the group numbers and will be back for final weeks of the show to support the rest of my fellow pros and their celebrities in what is going to be an AMAZING SERIES.”
The news arrives after two new professionals were added to the 2025 cast: Alexis Warr, who won the US series So You Think You Can Dance in 2022, and Julian Caillon, a ballroom TV star from Australia.
They will join returning professionals Dianne Buswell (who won the BBC dance competition with Chris McCausland in 2024), Nadiya Bychkova, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk and Jowita Przystal.
Amy Dowden, who pulled out of last year’s competition following a foot injury, will also return to the show, as will Carlos Gu, Kai Widdrington, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec Nancy Xu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.
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Meanwhile, Karen Hauer also secured a space on the line up, despite previous reports claiming the show’s longest-serving dancer was set to be axed by bosses.
The professional cast lost two members when Giovanni Pernice was dropped from the 2024 series, after actor Amanda Abbington made a series of allegations about his behaviour when they were partnered together on the programme in 2023.
Graziano Di Prima was also axed from the series over allegations regarding his treatment of his celebrity partner Zara McDermott. Di Prima said he “deeply regrets” the events that led to his departure.
Pernice denied allegations of “threatening and abusive behaviour”, and following an investigation, the BBC upheld complaints of verbal bullying and harassment – but said there were no findings relating to physical aggression.
The celebrities rumoured to be participating in this year’s series of Strictly include Love Island star Dani Dyer, Sort Your Life Out presenter Stacey Solomon, Olympic athlete Mo Farah and Neighbours star Stefan Dennis.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas are all returning as judges with recent MBE recipients Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman back on hosting duties.
