Gemma was criticised for her dress at the Pride of Britain Awards last month

Gorka Marquez hit back at critics who slammed his fiancée Gemma Atkinson for wearing a white gown to the Pride of Britain Awards.

The Strictly Come Dancing pro fiercely defended the Hits Radio presenter after social media users accused her of trying to “steal attention” from the evening’s honourees.

Gemma, who has been engaged to Gorka since 2021, stunned on the red carpet in a fitted white dress with a strapless bodice. She paired the gown with a black Chanel clutch, black tights and an umbrella with the British flag.

But while many praised the look, others speculated that the gown resembled a wedding dress, sparking backlash online.

Gemma was criticised for her dress at the Pride of Britain Awards last month (Credit: Cover Images)

Gorka Marquez defends Gemma Atkinson over red carpet dress

Speaking on the couple’s joint podcast, Lost In Translation, Gemma addressed the unexpected negativity head-on.

“He [Gemma’s stylist, Ryan] got me a lovely dress, and it was all white and fitted at the top, and all, like, lace at the bottom,” she explained. “And a few people messaged me to say I’d purposely planned to wear a wedding gown to steal attention from the nominees.”

Shocked by the accusation, she added: “I mean, imagine me having that in my mind.”

Gorka responded sarcastically. “It’s very you, that,” he teased. “That’s something that you would have come up with. In fact, you were, like, three months ago planning that: ‘How can I steal the attention?’”

But the professional dancer then made it clear that the claims were completely baseless.

“In fact, we didn’t even do the red carpet interviews or anything like that,” Gorka clarified. “We were there the last 10 minutes to just go straight in.”

“And I nearly slipped because it was wet,” Gemma chimed in. “That’s how much prep we had!”

She also pointed out how strange it was for people to assume that the dress was anything close to what she’d wear on her actual wedding day.

“A lot of people were saying I chose to wear a bridal dress. How do any of them know that’s what dress [I would wear]?” she asked. “I was chief bridesmaid for my sister, and my bridesmaid outfit was a trouser suit. I wouldn’t wear a wedding dress like that when we get married.”

Laughing, Gorka joked: “You’ll probably be wearing trackies.”

Gemma agreed that her outfit would be the “complete opposite” to her Pride of Britain dress.

Some accused the former actress of wearing an elaborate dress to steal attention from the official honourees (Credit: Brett D. Cove/SplashNews)

Gemma’s ‘dream’ wedding dress

Curious, Gorka then pressed her on what she would wear on their big day.

“Obviously, we’re not married yet, and you just said that wouldn’t be your kind of dress. What would be your kind of dress?”

Gemma revealed her dream look.

“I like the idea of having like a fitted lace bodysuit, but maybe with fitted trousers, and this little skirt on the back.”

Slightly bewildered, Gorka questioned: “Fitted trousers?”

But Gemma stood firm. “No, honestly, I’ll show you a picture! I know it’s not traditional. I basically wouldn’t wear a big white gown for a wedding because if you’re in it all day, it ain’t comfy.”

Despite being engaged for over two years, the pair have made it clear they’re in no rush to walk down the aisle.

Back in January, Gorka explained that they’re holding off until their youngest child, Thiago, gains a bit more independence.

“We will do it, it’s just not at the moment,” he told Express. “We are very good like this, especially with having the kids.

“Thiago is not independent yet, so we don’t want to go into the wedding and be carrying him or halfway through the wedding he starts screaming that he only wants Mummy, you know?!”