Strictly’s Karen Hauer talks babies after touring with “family driven” Gorka Marquez

Karen Hauer has teamed up with David for the launch of an online Home Festival of dance, fitness and baking, alongside fellow professional dancers Oti Mabuse and Marius Iepur.

The new initiative is aimed at keeping families active and occupied during the nationwide lockdown - using their professional skills to help others.

And we caught up with Karen before she postponed the rest of her Firedance tour with Gorka Marquez, to see whether having worked with the new dad and dancer was making her feel broody.

Gorka is dad to eight-month-old daughter Mia who he has with partner Gemma Atkinson. Karen told us, "It’s been great. He’s such a great man. I’ve been working with him on Strictly for the past couple of years but it's been brilliant to dance with him, travel with him and share the stage with him."

She continued, "He has this family and what’s nice about him is he prioritises his family – he’s very family driven and so am I. It’s nice to see someone with the importance of family and health as much as he does.

"He loves being a dad and it’s beautiful to see that but It’s not making me broody at all. I woke up today because the dogs were barking and I let them out and went back to bed it was perfect." Karen found love with David following her split from ex Strictly star Kevin Clifton. she continued, "I don’t have children yet but now that I have my fur babies and my partner we’re very much about being at home and creating a unit and having our own little team – talking care of ourselves physically and mentally."

The tour has since been postponed - with plans to reschedule the remaining tour dates when possible and Karen was announced as returning to Strictly Come Dancing later this year for what will be her ninth year.

On her return, she said, "It’s amazing and incredible. It’s nice to get that phone call because you never know – this industry is pretty tough but I was always confident I’d do a good job. It’s going to be my ninth year, which really is amazing. I’m looking forward to getting started."

In the meantime a timetable of activities aimed at keeping spirits high, muscles moving and creative juices flowing.

When are Karen Hauer's Home Festival events taking place?

Currently scheduled to take place every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Karen and Oti (stars of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing) together with Marius (World Latin Champion) and David.

The schedule on each day is as follows: 10.00-10.30: Hauer Power workout class with Karen 11.30-12.00: Kids Dance Class with Oti and Marius 14.00-14.30: Baking or cookery class with Katie Priest or a guest celebrity (upcoming people in this slot include Neil Jones) 15.30-16.00: Make-up tutorial with celebrity make-up artist Bryony Blake 16:00-16:30: Celebrity expert guest slot (upcoming people in this slot for this weekend include Greg Rutherford and Janette Manrara ) 18.00-18.30: Stretch Flow and Yoga with Karen 19.00-19.30: Listen to David reading a book – current read is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 19:30-20:15: Adult Dance Class with Oti and Marius 20:45-21:15 Sundays only: Meditation with Camilla Sacre Dallerup

https://youtu.be/kYfMbNZuO04

Karen said, "These are testing times for everyone and we wanted to bring together our collective skills and passions and make them available for the whole family to enjoy. We’ve got some amazing special guests coming up as well as our regular slots, so head over to our channels and join in the fun!”

Check out their videos on You Tube, Instagram and Twitter.