BBC Strictly stars who found love on the dance floor: marriages, babies and painful splits
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this week for its 20th year, co-hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
Successful couples to come from Strictly Come Dancing include Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez, who competed against each other before embarking on a relationship.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)Strictly Come Dancing has been the launch pad for many future weddings and flash-in-the-pan flames over the last two decades.
From budding behind-the-scenes romances with fellow celebrities to public declarations of adoration, the BBC mainstay has seen it all.
On Saturday (September 14), the 22nd series of the show is set to premiere and will see a fresh cohort of famous faces vying for the Glitterball Trophy.
As Strictly celebrates its 20th year on air, Express.co.uk is looking back at some of the romantic couples to emerge from the competition.
These include Gorka Marquez and his fianceé Gemma Atkinson as well as former flames Giovanni Pernice and Ashley Roberts.
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KISS DJ Tyler West and soap actress Molly Rainford competed on the 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Following the pair’s stint, the duo confirmed their relationship in March 2023 and moved in together at the beginning of 2024.
"We are good and going strong and are actually moving in together - we're just going through, you know dining tables and sofas and all that kind of stuff, it's exciting,” Tyler said at the time.
"Molly's turned into a whole interior designer so I'm just taking a complete back seat!"
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Countdown presenter Rachel Riley and ex-Strictly professional Pasha Kovalev met after being partnered for the show in 2013.
A year later, the couple confirmed their relationship upon attending London Fashion Week together and married in Las Vegas in 2019.
Rachel and Pasha are now parents to two children: Maven Aria and Noa, and live in West London together as a family.
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Gemma Atkinson and her fiancé Gorka Marquez initially met competing on the 2017 edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
At the time, the Spanish professional was working with Alexandra Burke while the Hollyoaks actress was competing alongside Aljaz Skorjanec.
Following the conclusion of the season, Gemma and Gorka announced their relationship on Valentine’s Day 2018 and welcomed their first child together in July 2019.
Almost two years later, the celebrity couple revealed they were engaged to be married before welcoming a son in July 2023.
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Former Strictly Come Dancing champions Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton lifted the coveted Glitterball Trophy together in 2018.
The pair have officially been an item since going public with their relationship in 2019 and recently welcomed their first child together - a daughter called Minnie.
The duo currently reside in Liverpool, having previously cohabitated in London.
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