Strictly Come Dancing couple Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have agreed she’ll do her biohacking in a spare room after the temperature issue left him struggling to sleep
Robin Cottle Assistant Editor Trendswatch
16:00, 22 Nov 2025
Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez had a disagreement over their bedroom temperature (Image: Getty Images)
Strictly Come Dancing stars Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have found themselves in a bit of a pickle that many couples can relate to – sparking an agreement over separate rooms.
The pair, who first locked eyes on Strictly, had a bit of disagreement over the temperature in their bedroom, with 41 year old Gemma’s biohacks seemingly turning up the heat.
Gorka reckons the perfect temperature for their bedroom is between 18 and 21C. However, thanks to Gemma’s biohacks, which include a so-called sauna blanket, the temperature shoots up to a sweltering 26C, making it tough for the Spanish hoofer to get some shut-eye.
During their Lost in Translation podcast, Gorka confessed: “I’m a person who doesn’t like to sleep in a hot room, or on a hot bed or when it’s very hot.
“What she does is, she gets the red blanket, she puts it now on top of the bed. So I go to bed, and I’m in bed already with my glasses and my laptop, a low intensity, so then the light doesn’t disturb her, because she doesn’t like it, so I put it quite dark,” reports the Mirror.
Gemma and Gorka come to a compromise(Image: Daily Mirror)
“But she goes and puts the mat on top of the bed, she lies on top of the bed, full power, so I have different intensities, and it’s quite bright red.
“So she does for half an hour, both ways. It’s like a toast, up and down. That red light gets hot, so it also heats up the bed, and that heat goes to me.”
In response, Gemma said she tries to cool things down by opening the patio door.
The actress recognised the potential disruption to her partner’s sleep and suggested a solution.
She said: “It made me laugh actually. Last night, he said to me. I was on the red light blanket with my red light helmet on, and I had an eye mask on, and my blue light blockers, and I had no clothes on. I was naked.
“And he just went to me: ‘You look like a corpse on a slab, Gemma. I was just laying there. But I had a great night’s sleep after all those bio hacks.
“OK so what I’ll do moving forward. If you’ve got the feeling, I’ll go into the next room, I’ll do my biohacks in the spare room, and then I’ll come back to bed.”
The couple met on Strictly Come Dancing (Image: PA)
The pair sealed their agreement with a handshake.
Gemma and Gorka first crossed paths when she took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, although they weren’t partnered together.
The former Hollyoaks actress made it to the final with Aljaz Skorjanec, whilst Gorka reached the same stage with singer Alexandra Burke. Both couples were beaten by actor Joe McFadden and Katya Jones.
The duo have since welcomed two children – daughter Mia, six, and two year old son Thiago.
Strictly Come Dancing returns tonight (Saturday, November 22) at 6.35pm on BBC One.
