Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson has weighed in on the "educational side" to her and Gorka Márquez's reality TV show.
Returning to the W Channel for its second series next week, the six-parter follows the couple throughout their respective professional and private lives as they adjust to raising another child among other things.
In a Digital Spy exclusive, former Emmerdale actor Atkinson expressed her desire to address post-partum recovery in the new episodes.
Related: Strictly's Gemma Atkinson responds to BBC Gladiators rumours
"I think there's a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way after a baby and there's not a lot of emphasis on pelvic floor health and rehabilitation and scar therapy and things you can do for any C section mums," she said.
"So [postnatal physio Deborah Schofield] from the first series, she's a women's physio, she features a lot which is brilliant as again a lot of the feedback was that they loved the educational side to it.
"So many women messaged me and said they didn't realise they had ab separation, they just thought it was a belly that they couldn't shift and from watching our show, they've gone 'Oh I can have this checked' and move on and get rehab for it and close the gap in their tummy."
Related: Gemma Atkinson shuts down Gorka Márquez split rumours
Atkinson went on to reiterate her pleasure over "helping women at a really difficult time in their life when your body is changing and you've got no control over it.
"It's nice to know that you can do things afterwards to get a little bit of you back."
Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens airs on the W Channel from 6 May at 8pm.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Tickets for Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals live tour are available now.
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Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
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Emily is an experienced entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow. She joined Digital Spy as Acting Deputy News Editor in May 2023, and became Deputy News Editor the following year.
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