It seems a romance between Mollie King and her professional dancer partner AJ Pritchard is the worst kept secret on this year’s Strictly – and their co-stars can’t help pushing them to admit it.
Co-host Claudia Winkleman is the latest to tease the couple about their relationship, making them blush with a cheeky joke about why the Saturdays star is spending so many hours training.
Speaking to the pair after they had discovered they had made it through to the semi-final, Claudia said Mollie deserved it because she was always training hard.
Mollie agreed saying: “We train every hour of the day. Poor AJ must be like ‘not again’. I’m so grateful and thank you to everyone who has voted for us.”
AJ added: “Your dedication is just outstanding, you’re willing to train for over 300 hours.”
Claudia then quipped: “Very cute, and only half that time is spent kissing.”
AJ and Mollie reacted with dismay to the joke, as did their fellow dancers sat on the sofa around them.
The couple couldn’t stop giggling about it – but didn’t deny it wasn’t true!
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Mollie looked up at the ceiling with a huge grin on her face and then pretended to hit Claudia on the arm.
The presenter quickly clarified “I’m joking! I’m joking!” but her comment has added further fuel to the fire that Mollie and AJ are more than just friends.
The latest teasing over their romance comes after the pair managed to avoid a public kiss to confirm they were an item despite their fellow dancers chanting “kiss! kiss!” as they awaited their scores last week.
Then on Saturday, they gave them what they wanted at the end of their sensuous rumba, appearing to lock lips at the end of their dance in which they played Danny and Sandy from Grease.
“Did you actually kiss her on the lips?” Tess Daly couldn’t resist asking as the pair went over to hear the judges’ comments.
Bruno Tonioli also hasn’t missed the sparks flying between the pair on and off the dance floor, as he told them of their rumba: “I never thought you would be able to translate these emotions into such brilliant motions.”
AJ has also kept fans guessing over his relationship status, refusing to confirm whether he and Mollie are dating when he was asked by The Mirror last week.
He avoided the question saying: “You’ll have to keep watching the journey.”
He added that he would be “heartbroken” when their time on the show ends.
But for now they will keep dancing (and romancing?) as they have been voted into the semi-final.
Mollie said she couldn’t believe it after previously being in the dance-off a number of times.
Sharing a video of her reaction when she heard she was through in the results show, she wrote: “Oh my goodness, absolutely lost for words!
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“I’m over the moon and can’t thank you enough for voting us through to the semi finals! I am having the time of my life on Strictly and am so grateful to each person who has contributed to letting this journey continue for us! Thank you AJ for absolutely everything, I can’t believe we’ve got this far, what a dream.”