The cast and crew of Strictly Come Dancing were in shock this weekend, when pro dancer Gorka Marquez was savagely beaten by a gang of youths just hours after he took part in Saturday’s live show in Blackpool.
The handsome Spanish dancer had two teeth smashed out of his mouth in the vicious ordeal and is set to undergo urgent surgery to regain his dazzling Strictly smile.
The violent attack took place in the early hours of Sunday morning as he and fellow Strictly dancers Aljaz Skorjanec and Neil Jones headed to Flamingo nightclub to join the rest of the stars and crew from the hit show
“Gorka and a few of the other dancers were walking from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom heading to a nightclub to join the rest of the cast and crew of the show to celebrate the end of another fantastic show,” a source told Entertainment Daily.
“ Then, totally out of the blue, a bunch of drunken lads started heckling them before one of the louts smacked Gorka around the face and smashed two of his front teeth!
“The attack was unprovoked and Gorka and his dancers were sober as they had literally just left the show.”
Gorka, who was left shaken by the incident, was rushed back to his hotel to be tended to by medics to ensure that there his injuries weren’t too serious.
Luckily the only real damage done was twi broken teeth, which he is due to have urgently fixed today.
Although he and his dance partner, EastEnders star Tameka Empson, 39, crashed out of the show back in week three, Gorka, who cast and crew describe as “just adorable and lovely to be around” has been part of the weekly group dances.
Over the weekend, he danced with Jeanette Manrara during Rick Astley’s performance of his new single Dance.
But he even stood in for Brendan Cole one week to partner Anastacia when he was ill.