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Gorka Marquez joked he would “leave” Gemma Atkinson if she welcomed a new addition into their household. Professional dancer Gorka and former soapstar Gemma met while appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007. The couple, who share two children together, recently welcomed goldendoodle Benji into their lives. It came after Gemma’s older dogs , Norman and Ollie, died last year. On the couple’s Lost in Translation podcast, Gorka however revealed Benji had been jumping on the couple’s bed in the night, waking him up and landing in “painful” places. It prompted Gorka to issue a plea for Gemma to make Benji sleep downstairs or off the bed. Gemma however revealed she wants to welcome another dog into the household and told her partner he was welcome to sleep in another room. Gorka, who recently returned home from a tour with fellow Strictly pro Karen Hauer, said: “First week home, and Benji wasn’t really jumping on the bed, and I slept very bad, because Benji kept me awake. “I said, ‘Gemma, We can’t keep having this, Benji cannot keep sleeping on the bed’, and she’s like, ‘Well you can go in the spare room’. So that’s what’s going to happen.” Gemma joked it’s a case of “love me, love my dog”. She went on to say that “some couples” do sleep in separate rooms, adding it doesn’t mean they “love each other any less”. Gorka, who shares children Mia and Thiago with Gemma, says he recently went to check on their son during the night only to find the dog had taken his spot when he returned. Gemma said the pooch was “living his best life” on the couple’s bed. The former Hollyoaks actress went on to say that Benji is “like a little shadow.” She added: “Wait until we get another one.” To which Gorka joked: “I’ll leave then”. Gemma added: “I would have four dogs if we could.” Gorka went on to insist he is a fan of the dog however. He said: “I love the dog but he needs to go down. I do love him a lot but I am still reasonable, ‘You are my dog, you are my pet, you sleep on the floor or downstairs’.” Gemma however says she sees the dog as a “companion and best friend”. She says she lets the dog “crack on” and “do what he likes”. Former model Gemma was partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec when she appeared on Strictly in 2017. She finished runner-up alongside Alexandra Burke and Gorka as well as Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice. Joe McFadden and Katya Jones won the series. Strictly Come Dancing returns at 6.25pm on BBC One this evening
