As Gemma Atkinson reveals daughter Mia, six, has epilepsy, who is partner Gorka Marquez and are they married?
A TV presenter has revealed that her six-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with epilepsy.
Gemma Atkinson, who has two children with Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez, explained on her Just As Well podcast that Mia began experiencing “zoning out” episodes linked to loss of awareness.
Known as absence seizures, the six-year-old is now receiving treatment for her condition.
Atkinson said: “My daughter is under treatment for epilepsy - she has the absence seizures, she doesn’t fit or anything, it’s just a stare out - and they’ve got so much better, a year in.”
After the diagnosis, Atkinson admitted she went down a research “rabbit hole.” One treatment option recommended by doctors was a ketogenic diet, which has been shown to help some epilepsy patients by altering brain function.
“The improvement we’ve had - the last six months she’s had none, touch wood,” she added.
Atkinson also noted the diet was first trialed in the 1930s, though early research was set back after a fire destroyed the doctor’s records.
Gemma and Gorka, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, got engaged in 2021 and are planning to marry once their son Thiago, now two, is older.