GORKA Marquez has revealed the real reason he's not taking part in the Strictly Come Dancing arena tour this year.

The Spaniard reached the final of the latest series with his celebrity partner Helen Skelton but lost out to Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal.

Replying to a fan's question about his tour absence on Instagram, he explained: "After the Strictly series I always like to take some down time to spend quality time with Gem and Mia.

"I am grateful for the work but I also think spend time with family is important. Time flies and we wont' get those memories back [heart emoji]."

In a follow-up post he shared a selfie of him and Helen, who will dance with Kai Widdrington on the tour, and urged people to get tickets.

Pro dancer Gorka, 32, is now a three-time Strictly finalist.

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Noticing his reaction to missing out on the top prize again, one fan commented: "Gorka can’t hide his feelings at all 🤣 … I feel you hun #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing."

Another wrote: "gorka looks like he’s about to whack someone 😳😳😳😳 how about celebrating your friends?! #Strictly."

Gorka later praised Hamza’s win and hinted he would be back for another series of the show.

He wrote: "The biggest THANK YOU, because without you we wouldn’t be here and your lovely messages of support means the world. Strictly 23 lets go!!! In the mean time Keep dancing!!"

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The live arena tour visits venues including Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena, Leeds's First Direct Arena, the AO Arena in Manchester and Newcastle's Utilita Arena.

The dancers will also stop at London's O2 Arena and the SSE Arena in Belfast, before ending at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on February 12.

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