Bury-born Gemma Atkinson has rubbished claims her fiance Gorka Marquez is set to leave Strictly Come Dancing after seven years on the show.

The Sun reported on Friday that professional dancer Marquez, 32, was planning to quit the BBC show after narrowly missing out on winning the glitterball trophy for the third time when he and presenter Helen Skelton placed as runners-up during the 2022 series final.

However, on Saturday former Hollyoaks star Atkinson, 38, clarified the allegations on her Instagram story.

Alongside a clip of an article reporting the rumours, she joked: "Wish I hadn't said to all the backstage crew 'see you next year' now" before adding "Obviously, this isn't true at all!

"Same as it wasn't true about Gio (Giovanni Pernice) last year. Merry Christmas."

Spanish professional dancer Marquez joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 and has finished as a runner-up on three occasions - in 2017 with singer Alexandra Burke, in 2020 with actress Maisie Smith and last weekend with Skelton.

After a glittery finale on Saturday, wildlife cameraman and presenter Hamza Yassin and his partner Jowita Przystal won the competition following the public vote.

Marquez met Atkinson when she competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, and announced in February 2021 that they are engaged.

The couple share daughter Mia, who was born in 2019.

The BBC declined to comment on the matter and Marquez's representatives have been contacted for a response.