EXCLUSIVE Karen Hauer and Gorka Márquez: ‘We use our Whatsapp group to trash people’

Strictly’s Karen Hauer and Gorka Márquez talk dancing, drinking and diva-ish demands with Shereen Low

strictly karen and gorka

by Shereen Low |
Published on

The heat offices are in for a treat today – Strictly Come Dancing dancers Karen Hauer and Gorka Márquez are in the building. Strolling in and somehow managing to look cool even in 29ºC heat, they greet us effusively with hugs before tucking into the freshly baked croissants we’ve laid out. “Croissants give me energy,” Karen confides.

Since meeting on the iconic BBC show in 2016, Venezuelan-born Karen, 42, and Spanish native Gorka, 33 – who shares two children with his fiancée, former Strictly contestant Gemma Atkinson – have become firm friends. While Karen brings her fiery Latino passion to the dance floor, he brings a cheeky energy (as well as undeniable sex appeal, obvs) – together, their chemistry is hard to beat.

The professional dancers are about to perform their fourth show together, Speakeasy. The production, which starts in February 2025 and will also mark their West End debut, will be their biggest to date.

We were all primed in to grill the pair, but Gorka surprised us with a question of his own…

Morning! How are you both?

strictly karen and gorka
karen and gorka have opened up to heat magazine

Gorka: Is heat the one with Torso Of The Week?

Karen: Is this why you’re bringing it up?

G: They had me on before. They need to have me again.

Definitely. We’ll just need some new photos…

G: I have plenty. I can send you some?

K: Just look through his Instagram.

Speakeasy is the fourth time you’re going to be performing together in your own show – what’s the secret to your partnership?

K: I just let him do whatever he wants.

G: I just follow whatever she wants.

K: We’re so comfortable around each other.

G: Like brother and sister.

K: We have the same brain, just different bodies. We’re very chilled. We don’t have egos around each other and it works. We have the same humour, we like the same music, we think the same way, we have the same kind of vision about things. We let each other just be.

G: I think, also, we are very respectful. We respect each other. We admire each other. The success in our friendship and in our relationships, we let each other be ourselves without any judgment – and that’s what makes it so easy.

karen hauer on striclty
karen danced with eddie kadi last series ©BBC

Was the chemistry instant when you first met each other?

G: From the beginning, we got on, because we were Latinos and we spoke Spanish. In my first year of Strictly, I was with my friends. Karen was very cool – she would wear dark glasses to walk to lunch. Neither of us are the kind of people who are like, “Oh my god! Hi, welcome. I’m your best friend.” We assessed each other like cats. It was in 2018 when we really clicked and we spent all our time together.

K: You’re the same way as well. That’s why, I guess, we have a very close circle of friends, because we’re pretty much the same. We like good energy. If you can’t take a joke, you can’t hang out with us. You have to have fun and banter – we love good banter. It’s always been like that since the beginning.

G: We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Karen, what were your first impressions of Gorka?

K: I was impressed when he started dancing Salsa. There’s usually a dance to show off the new professionals. When he started doing Salsa, I was like, “Okaaay, he does Salsa”, and I remember thinking that he’s got the shoulder thing going on. Because when people say, “I’ve done Salsa”, I’m like, “Really?” I was born dancing Salsa in my mum’s womb. And obviously, I have the World Championship, but we don’t need to talk about that. So, when somebody goes, “I’ve done Salsa”, I’m like, “Whatever.” When I saw Gorka dancing, I was like, “He’s got the Salsa spine.” The more and more I got to know him and how much of a Salsa lover he is with the old-school Latin music, I was like, “OK, cool. I like him. I’m gonna be friends with him.”

dianne buswell and gorka
he's just ken, alongside dianne buswell as barbie ©BBC

So, who from the Strictly gang is in your close circle?

K: Jowita [Przystal] is one of our close friends. Luba [Mushtuk], but sometimes she can be a little spicy. She doesn’t take jokes too well, but we’re all pretty friendly. Neil [Jones] is awesome.

G: Neil and I always like to prank each other and sometimes we get in trouble.

K: On tour, we take over the back of the bus. On the Professionals tour, there would be Neil, myself, Luba, Gorka and Jowita. We had a WhatsApp group called The Back Of The Bus. Everybody likes to hang out with us, because we’re just really cool.

G: Carlos [Gu] joined us for the last few weeks. Bless him, he suddenly asked us, “Do you mind if I join you? It looks fun.”

K: We don’t go crazy or anything. We just sit and kind-of casually chat. But most of the time we’re just, you know, trashing people on the WhatsApp group. [Laughs.]

G: Carlos was sitting with someone else and he told them, “I’m gonna sit at the back, do you mind? I’m just giving you space so you can lie down, but I’m just gonna be at the back.” He made it out so the other person could lie down and have a rest…

K: But he just wanted to hang out with us.

G: It was so funny.

Who’s the diva on tour?

K: [Points to Gorka.] This one. Oh my god.

G: For the Professionals tour, I had two big suitcases, two bags with a backpack, another bag, a huge box for my supplements and everything and then another box that was full of clothes I ended up buying.

K: I try to pack everything in one bag and I bring two pairs of shoes. Maybe one, it depends, and I’ll just recycle everything , but he loves shopping as well.

G: Yes, but I can explain it. I had the rehearsal clothes and shoes, then normal clothes for everyday wear, clothes and shoes in case we’re going for dinner or there’s a special occasion. Then I have gym clothes with gym shoes. I also run, so I have my running shoes and running clothes. And then if we go to the spa, sauna or beach, I have swimming costumes.

K: High maintenance.

G: I love shopping, so I do that in every city. I buy a lot of gifts for the kids, for Gemma, mostly for me, but I always buy something for them to justify it. “Oh, I bought you a pair of shoes… and also for me.” I’m obsessed with shoes and I love trainers. But because me and Gemma have the same foot size, I justify it by giving her my old trainers. They look new, because I take care of them. I give them to her and keep the new ones.

She might read this interview…

Gorka: Oh, she knows it. She doesn’t mind. She’s like, “It’s your money.”

You’re both fitness fanatics. Who can do the most press-ups?

G: In one go? I can probably do 50 unbroken. Want me to show you?

K: I can probably do 25, half of what he does. We’re both pretty strong.

Who would win in an arm wrestle?

G: Depends if it’s with our left hand or right hand. I’m sure if it was her right hand, Karen would win.

K: Right hand, I’m stronger.

G: I would win if it was left hand.

K: And I would probably cheat. Yeah.

You’ve named your tour Speakeasy – a place where alcohol was once sold illegally. Do you both drink?

G: I only drink on rare occasions, like dinners and birthday parties.

K: You know, I like my end-of-day wine. It’s my wine down. Get it? [Laughs.] But I enjoy it. I enjoy a little cocktail now and again. I respect alcohol and I drink responsibly, I don’t drink to get absolutely plastered.

G: Actually, a glass of wine a day is very good for your heart.

K: Red wine, isn’t it? I’ll have a bottle then. [Laughs.] Gorka’s deadly on the tequila shots. He brings the tequila shots out, gives them away, and of course when he does, I can’t say no.

G: I don’t drink much. I don’t actually like drinking wine or beers, but when I drink, I like to have a good tequila.

Do you do tequila shots every Saturday night after the live show?

G: We used to leave straight after the show because we only have one day off, so we used to drive back, four hours up north, so no drinks. And it’s not like before. We used to have a green room for guests and everything, but since COVID that disappeared, so we don’t have anywhere after the show to hang out with everybody. And because most of the dancers live in London, everybody goes home. Only Blackpool! Blackpool is the big party, because everybody’s there and no one can leave, we have to stay there.

K: It’s like Hotel California from the song – you’re going in, you’re never coming out. But that’s when everybody kind of lets loose.

So, it’s like a school trip away?

G: Oh, yes! The Blackpool after-party is better than the wrap party.

K: It really is!

G: Because at the wrap party, it’s the end of the series, Christmas is the next week so everybody wants to go home or they’re in London, so they don’t stay.

K: Whereas in Blackpool, the only thing you have to do is go upstairs to your room and pass out until checkout.

Who would be your dream celebrity partner on Strictly?

G: I would love to have James Corden on the show because I think he would be amazing and very entertaining. He has the moves, he can perform. I think he’d be brilliant.

K: Mine is Pink. I have a girl crush on her. She’s just the best. I just saw her in concert, and she is absolutely incredible – a powerhouse. She’s brilliant, an icon.

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This year is the 20th anniversary of Strictly. Can you spill anything on the celebrations?

K: They like to keep everything under wraps. The only thing we know is that we’re coming back and we start next month. Once that starts, they will let us know bit by bit what we’re doing throughout the season. But for now, we have zero intel.

G: Is this year the Olympics? I think, probably we will have some Olympians for sure, like in 2016.

Some of the names rumoured for this year include Roman Kemp, Brooklyn Beckham, and Lioness Jill Scott…

G: Brooklyn Beckham? I would love his dad to do the show. David would be great.

K: I love Roman Kemp. That would be cool. I think they’re going to go for it. It’s our 20th year, so they definitely have something up their sleeve.

Karen and Gorka’s Speakeasy tour kicks off from February 2025. Tickets are on sale now via Speakeasylive.

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