Former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson has voiced her frustration over her partner Gorka Marquez's absence due to his Strictly Come Dancing commitments. The star, who met her Spanish dancer beau on the show in 2017, revealed on the Parenting Hell podcast that Gorka is "never here" from July to December due to the show's demanding schedule.

She said: "He's never here, yeah. It's Strictly from July to December, if they get a partner, they're based where their partner is in the week. Obviously London at the weekend."

Gemma also admitted she eagerly awaits the line-up announcement each year, not for the celebrities, but to find out where they live.

She explained: "So every time the line-up's announced, all I do, I think, I don't care who it is, I just Google where they live. If they're in Manchester, I'm like, great."

The couple, who share two children, Mia and Thiago, have been together since meeting on Strictly.

Despite meeting on the show, Gemma and Gorka weren't actually dance partners during the competition. Gemma was paired with Aljaz Skorjanec, while Gorka danced with former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke.

Gemma made it to the final but narrowly missed out on the Glitterball trophy, which was won by actor Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones.

Strictly wasn't her only reality TV venture as she later appeared in other shows such as I'm A Celeb and Celebrity MasterChef.

Although her second place finish in Strictly came in 2017, it wasn't her first reality TV success, having previously finished behind Loose Women's Nadia Sawalha in second place on MasterChef.

However, Gemma is perhaps best known for her acting roles. She began her career in 2001 when she was cast as Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks, a role she played until 2005 and briefly reprised in 2022.

Many soap fans will also remember Gemma from Emmerdale, where she portrayed Carly Hope from 2015 to 2017.