Strictly Come Dancing's Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have welcomed their baby boy

The birth marks the arrival of the couple's second child

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez baby boy
(Image credit: Mike Marsland/ Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Strictly Come Dancing stars Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have announced the birth of their second child, a baby boy.

The Strictly family just got one bigger! Congratulations to Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez who have just welcomed a baby boy into the world to 'complete' their new family of four. 

Sharing the news to Instagram on Wednesday 19 July, Gemma revealed, "Little man is here! Her arrived safe and sound and he's utterly wonderful.

"We're all home together soaking up this lovely bubble before Gorks has to leave for Strictly rehearsals next week. Thank you for all your lovely wishes. Our family is complete."

The former Hollyoaks actress announced her pregnancy back in January, posting a sweet series of baby-bump pictures to Instagram. Alongside the photos she shared, "Impossible to hide my belly any longer. I've officially 'popped.' Our baby boy will be joining our family later this year.

"We feel so incredibly blessed and grateful to be on this journey again. Mia is absolutely thrilled! Although we may need to do some negotiating on names, as so far she's adamant he's going to be called Barbie." 

The couple met on Strictly back in in 2017 when Gemma was a contestant on the show, though she wasn't partnered up with her now-hubby Gorka.  That didn't slow them down though and the couple fell in love, getting engaged in 2019 and welcoming their first child, daughter Mia, in the same year.

While Gemma hasn't revealed any details of her son's birth as of yet, she has previously opened up about the traumatic experience of her first delivery. 

The radio presenter revealed that she had to have an emergency C-section as Mia's heart rate dropped suddenly and the new mum then suffered a haemorrhage after the birth, losing nearly a litre of blood.

Following the ordeal, she was very cautious about the birthing plan for her second child. She previously took to Instagram Stories to explain,"I've just had a visit from Rachel, my lovely midwife. We have just been talking about birth options and things moving forward. 

"All lovely positive stuff and lots of positive affirmations which we're focusing on. We're getting everything mentally in place. Physically, I can do this but mentally, it's like hitting a wall in a workout. I need to just push through." 

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Royal News and Entertainment writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer for Goodto.com. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.