He and his celebrity dance partner, Maisie Smith, placed as runners-up in the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday evening.
And Gorka Marquez reunited with his daughter Mia and girlfriend Gemma Atkinson on Sunday, 78 days after leaving them to enter the BBC show’s COVID-19 bubble.
The professional dancer, 30, appeared overcome with emotion as he held onto his 17-month-old daughter tightly in a series of heartwarming Instagram snaps.
Sweet! Strictly Come Dancing’s Gorka Marquez reunited with his daughter Mia and girlfriend Gemma Atkinson on Sunday, 78 days after leaving them to enter the BBC show’s COVID bubble
Gorka was seen sporting a taupe tracksuit and khaki beanie hat in the images which he captioned: ‘HOME ♥️’.
Toddler Mia bore a striking resemblance to her mother Gemma, 36, as she rocked a full head of blonde hair and wrapped her arms around her father.
His Strictly comrades expressed their fondness over the sweet moment, as judge Motsi Mabuse penned: ‘We are counting the hours.I can’t stop crying this picture ❤️❤️❤️.’
Dancing With The Stars winner Pasqua Le Larocca wrote: ‘What a picture. ❤️ pure love,’ while fellow professional dancer AJ Pritchard and 2020 contestant Max George appreciated the post through a series of love hearts.
‘HOME’: The professional dancer, 30, appeared overcome with emotion as he held onto his 17-month-old daughter tightly for a series of heartwarming social media snaps
Due to the pandemic, Gorka was forced to spend time away from his family so he could participate in the 2020 production of Strictly.
In an interview on It Takes Two on Friday, the pro dancer revealed his struggle at being separated from his girlfriend and daughter while training for the show, and admitted he sometimes questioned his decision.
TV host Rylan said: ‘Gorka, you’ve had two months away from your family as well, we know how much you love them.
‘Surely getting to the final now with Maisie going the full way is a little bit of a consolation for it?’
Bless: His Strictly comrades expressed their fondness over the sweet moment, as judge Motsi Mabuse penned: ‘We are counting the hours.I can’t stop crying this picture ❤️❤️❤️’
Home is where the heart is: Due to the pandemic, Gorka was forced to spend time away from his partner Gemma, 36, so he could participate in the 2020 production (pictured in March)
The Spanish dancer replied: ‘Obviously there were times where I thought, “What am I doing? Why am I not going home?” It’s very hard to be away from Gemma and Mia.
‘But coming into the studio every day and to have [Maisie] there pushing and smiling trying to be her best, it pays off.’
Trying to turn his sadness into a positive, he added: ‘I am just grateful she’s in the final and hopefully it ends on a happy ending for you.
‘We can get that trophy for you and it would be my way to thank her for the work.’
Things then took a very emotional turn as Rylan, 32, surprised Gorka with a message from former Emmerdale star Gemma and their tiny tot, who had drawn him a picture.
Tearful: In an interview on It Takes Two on Friday, the pro dancer revealed his struggle at being separated from his family and admitted he sometimes questioned his decision
As Gemma told her partner how much they loved and missed him, Gorka broke down in tears as things became too much.
He was comforted by celebrity partner Maisie, 19, who had also become emotional at the clip.
Maisie and Gorka brought the festive feel to the final with their beautiful dance to We Need A Little Christmas by Idina Menzel, earning them their first 30 of the night.
Despite their best efforts, Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse were ultimately crowned the winners of Saturday night’s final, also beating HRVY and Janette Manrara, in addition to Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer.
Sweet: Gorka shed a tear when TV host Rylan, 32, surprised him with a message from former Emmerdale star Gemma and their tiny tot, who had drawn him a picture
Motsi praised the performance: ‘Content of the highest quality – tap, jazz , musical, everything,’ while Craig added: ‘Annoying because I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.’
Maisie competed on the most recent season of Strictly in the hopes it would boost family morale, after her dad Stephen lost his job at a bank.
And in an interview conducted before the finale, her mum and manager Julia revealed that the star was hoping a win would lift her close-knit family’s mood.
Julia, 50, told The Sun of Stephen: ‘He looked after the office premises. When everyone was sent home he didn’t have anything to do.
Valiant effort: He and his celebrity dance partner, Maisie Smith, 19, placed as runners-up on Saturday’s final as Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse walked away victorious
‘Having Maisie on Strictly has been a massive distraction from what we were going through. He’s so proud, he’s not into the limelight, he likes to sit back and watch us have fun.’
Julia was in the studio audience along with Maisie’s lookalike sister Scarlett, 22, for the semi-finals, where they watched the actress advance to the final stage of the competition after a largely impressive season.
And while much has been made of fellow finalist HRVY, 21, revealing that he’d like to take Maisie on a date once the series ends, Julia said: ‘He’d have to come round and get to know us for six months first. But he seems like a genuinely lovely guy.’
Family: In a recent interview, Maisie’s mum and manager Julia, revealed that the star competed on Strictly in hopes of boosting family morale, after her dad Stephen lost his job at a bank