BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Gorka Marquez makes bold Aljaz Skorjanec claim after Tasha Ghouri's two-word tribute

Gorka Marquez has been seen giving his full support to friend and co-star Aljaz Skorjanec as he made a bold claim about the dancer following his latest Strictly Come Dancing performance.

Aljaz had every reason to celebrate on Saturday night (November 23) as he and celebrity dance partner Tasha Ghouri bagged the first perfect score of the 2024 series.

Tasha and Aljaz were back in action during week ten of the BBC One dance contest following their near-perfect routine last weekend in Blackpool's world-famous Tower Ballroom during Strictly's annual jaunt up north to the seaside town.

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In week ten of the BBC One dance contest, the pair performed an elegant American Smooth. Tasha, who is the show’s second deaf contestant, performed a series of high lifts and dips during their dance to Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi to secure the top score of 40.

Head judge Shirley Ballas praised it as the "Rolls-Royce" of the American Smooth while Craig Revel Horwood described it as "fab-u-lous". Motsi Mabuse hailed it as "perfection" and said Tasha had brought the poignant song to life. Anton Du Beke, who got emotional during the performance, added that this is why dancers perform because of "how it makes us feel".

But as the last performer of the night, Tasha had to do a quick change out of her flowing silver gown with a sparkly bodice into a blue sparkly dress with tulle detailing for a second number, the long-awaited return of the Dance-A-Thon.

It saw all the seven remaining couples perform the samba simultaneously while the judges looked on and eliminated the pairings one by one before they were left with two. Tasha picked up an additional six points as she was voted runner-up behind JLS star JB Gill, who was named the winner of the dance, landing seven points.

But following their latest performance, Aljaz was purely focussed on their success and took to Instagram with a beaming snap of himself and Tasha in the ballroom with the simple caption: "40," with a Glitterball and stars emojis.

Gorka, who left Strictly's 2024 series during Halloween week with partner Dr Punam Krishan, was quick to respond to the post as he gushed: "So proud of you!! My favorite dance of yours ever." Meanwhile, Tasha responded with a string of crying emojis before adding: "For Lyra," referring to Aljaz's one-year-old daughter who he shares with Strictly star Janette Manrara.

Another co-star and close friend to respond was Nadiya Bychkova who commented on Aljaz's post: "The most amazing dance I ever saw on @bbcstrictly So proud of both of you. Love you lots," while Carlos Gu also added: "Well deserved, it was everything!!!!"