The dancer missed out on a reunion with his Strictly Come Dancing co-stars which saw a number of tears
Gorka Marquez admitted he was ‘gutted’ as he missed out on a reunion with his Strictly Come Dancing co-stars which saw a number of tears.
The professional dancer was unable to support fellow dancers Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu as they took their own show onto a West End stage for the first time.
Fans of the BBC One dance contest will probably be aware that the Strictly stars and friends have joined forces for their own joint headline tour.
The pair began their own headline tour, titled Reborn, last month and have continued wowing audiences across the country. It was then on Tuesday night (April 1) that Amy and Carlos experienced a dream come true moment as performed a gala night at London’s Adelphi Theatre.
Strictly stars including Shirley Ballas, Katya Jones, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones and Nadiya Bychkova were all in the audience on the special gala night as they took to social media with their own pictures, videos and messages of love and support for their pals.
As the dust settled on the moving evening, on Wednesday (April 2), Amy took to social media and reflected on the evening. Alongside a smiling picture of herself and Carlos wrapped in an embrace, the 35-year-old said: “These are the faces of two happy friends who performed their show on a west end stage last night to the most fabulous, busy and supportive audience with the most talented cast!
“The love and support we’ve received has just been over whelming and I can’t thank you all enough. Last night was a special night which will stay in my heart forever! AMY IS BACK! Forever grateful #reborn #whatanight #dreamscometrue.”
And their Strictly pals and fans were quick to respond, including Gorka who admitted: “[Clapping emojis] so gutted I missed it,” as he tours the country alongside Karen Hauer with their own joint headline show, Speakeasy.
Meanwhile, Strictly judge Shirley took to social media with a clip of Amy, Carlos and their cast taking their final bows, Shirley wrote on her Instagram Story: “I was honoured and privileged to watch @amyandcarlosreborn.
“I’ve seen many shows in my lifetime but this was a journey and truly phenomenal. Their journey was told beautifully with charm and grace. It was a show that went beyond dancing, it was a show by two outstanding artists.”
She went on to share another clip in which Amy started to become tearful as she spoke about her journey back to the stage after being diagnosed with cancer in early 2023.
She was heard shared how she spent weekends crying on Carlos’ shoulder before he, and her husband Ben Jones, helped her in “endless hour” over Christmas and the start of 2025 helping to “get me back to where I am, to build my confidence up”.
Shirley typed alongside the video: “@amy_dowden truly embraced her time on stage surrounded by those she loves and who love her. Epitome of class [red heart emoji].
“@gkx_carlos for me was born to be on stage. His mastery of his art was a sight to behold. I see a West End career calling him. Balance and control, singing and dancing, a focused performance from the heart. His craft of dance is his life, and it showed in natural versatility in all he did.”