Strictly’s Gorka Marquez reveals ‘disappointment’ after being forced to axe show
Oh no!
Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez has spoken of his disappointment after being forced to drop out of a live tour show.
The Spanish dancing professional, 34, joined the BBC competition in 2016 and has been partnered with the likes of Alexandra Burke, Katie Piper, Helen Skelton, and, most recently, Dr. Punam Krishan.
Despite never having won the competition (finishing as runner-up twice), Gorka has become a firm favourite of Strictly viewers over the years.
And this year he and fellow Strictly professional Karen Hauer set out on their Speakeasy tour, showing off their ‘elegant and iconic dance flavours’ to audiences around the country.
But Gorka has shared his disappointment on social media after being forced to pull out of one of the Speakeasy shows due to ‘technical difficulties’ at the venue.
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Gorka and Helen were due to take to the stage at Cheltenham Town Hall on Thursday but revealed they were ‘upset’ to have ‘pull down the curtain’ just minutes before they were due on stage.
Gorka and Karen Hauer are on their Speakeasy Tour of the UK (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)‘We are so upset to have the curtain pulled down on tonight’s show,’ a statement read. We have been in the venue all afternoon battling with technical difficulties which have posed real safety concerns.
The statement continued, saying that Gorka and Karen ‘tried everything we [could] to go on stage tonight. Of course the safety of our company comes first and this decision is beyond our control.’
Gorka concluded by saying, ‘We hope to see you very soon. The venue will be in touch with ticket holders. We are as disappointed as you are,’ signing the post from both of them.
Organisers have said the event will be rescheduled (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)The town hall also posted an explanation and apology on Facebook, adding that a rescheduled date would be announced as soon as it could be.
Hilary replied: ‘My friend and I had travelled from Staffordshire and Dorset respectively, incurring the costs of train tickets and overnight hotel accommodation, specifically to enjoy this show together. Very disappointed that it was cancelled – and so little notice.’
Lucy said: ‘Absolutely gutted! Was so looking forward to this especially as I’ve had the tickets since last July. Really hope it’s rearranged – the cancellation was so late in the day.’
Phillip was more sympathetic: ‘Shame it was cancelled, but understand why the late notification as you were probably trying to get whatever it was resolved. Typical it was just after I paid for parking that I saw the email.’
Thursday night’s announcement came shortly after it was revealed that Karen wouldn’t be taking part in any future meet-and-greets on the tour.
A statement said that ‘scheduling difficulties’ meant it was not possible for Karen to stay behind before and after shows in order to meet Strictly Come Dancing fans.
The events in Cheltenham this week echo the cancellation of the Strictly Come Dancing live tour show in Glasgow, which was due to take place in January.
Glasgow braced itself to face lethal winds and heavy rain as Storm Eowyn made landfall on a Friday evening, which meant the OVO Hydro show had to be postponed and reorganised for the Sunday night instead.
The unfortunate news was broken by the event’s organisers at the time, and fans were left feeling disappointed that the announcement had come with less than 24 hours notice.
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