Strictly Come Dancing star 'ambushed by gang' after live Blackpool show

The national newspaper said the Spanish dancer suffered two broken teeth when he was 'ambushed' by youths as he made his way to the Flamingo nightclub, in Queen Street, after performing at the Tower Ballroom last night.

One friend told the tabloid the 26-year-old was punched in the face after a 'group of local louts came out of nowhere', and described the assault as 'entirely random and shocking attack'.

Gorka, who was with fellow dancers Neil Jones, 33, and Aljaz Skorjanec, 26, at the time of the attack, has since returned to London for dental surgery, the paper reported.

The Latin star has not tweeted about the incident, which reportedly happened just hours after he shared a video on the social media site outlining 'five reasons why Blackpool rocks', but is said to be more shaken than angry.

Gorka, from Bilbao, began dancing at the age of 12, representing Spain in the World Latin Championships in 2010, and reaching the semi-finals of the 2012 WDSF World Cup.

"Gorka's an incredibly passive guy, he wouldn't hurt a fly," one pal told the paper.

"He's so upbeat that he won't let an unprovoked attack from a yob ruin his first Strictly in Blackpool."

A Strictly spokesman told The Sun: "Gorka was sadly the victim of an unprovoked incident in Blackpool on Saturday night but he will be back in training this week and is looking forward to the group routine next weekend.”

Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford became the nine celebrity to leave Strictly after dancing in Blackpool, viewers learned tonight.

Rutherford and his professional partner Natalie Lowe ended up in the dance off alongside gymnast Claudia Fragapane and her partner AJ Pritchard, but the judges opted to save Fragapane.

Rutherford, who recently turned 30, said: "It's horrible, I mean it's something that completely engulfs your life and every aspect - I mean I am training 10 to 12 hours a day - I have been putting all my heart and soul into it.

"I would like to think I was getting better and improving but obviously not. It's a very, very tough year this year, there are some exceptional dancers and I knew I was never as good as those guys but I was going to try as hard as I possibly could to get as close as I could.

"Sadly for me it's finished now. I'm gutted. I spend all my time with Natalie at the moment, we have such a great partnership and such a great friendship that now I know on Monday morning I won't be doing that now and that's difficult."