Fans were left convinced that Paddy McGuinness is dating his Inside The Factory co-star after he posted photos of the pair together.
The TV star has since broken his silence and acknowledged the rumours that have began to circulate.
Paddy surprised his followers when he posted a carousel of images on Instagram with his Inside The Factory co-star Cherry Healey.
His divorce with ex-wife Christine McGuinness was finalised in 2024 after their shock split in 2022.
Is Paddy McGuinness dating his co-star?
In the Instagram post, one of the photos showed Paddy and Cherry having a meal together, and also visiting a book store.
He gushed about the whole crew who work on the show, but took the time to give Cherry an individual shout-out – and it was very sweet.
Paddy captioned the post: “The whole crew on Inside The Factory have been a joy to work with. A small-but-perfectly-formed team. Also I had never met Cherry before, but we hit it off straight away. Absolutely love working with her. She’s an absolute diamond!”
This caused fans to believe there is something more going on behind the scenes. And they wasted no time in sharing their opinions.
One wrote: “Is this a soft launch for your new Mrs?”
Another added: “Oooh I’m liking this. New lady Paddy? You look cute together. A subtle introduction.”
A third penned: “I suspect she is your soulmate!”
“Looks like someone is smitten to me. Congratulations if so,” a fourth commented.
However, hopes were quickly dashed when Paddy decided to tackle the rumours head on and give a definitive answer.
In the comments he responded: “Not at all. She’s just a great person.”
The simple-but-declarative response hints that Paddy is still looking for love, but unfortunately for his fans, not with his new co-host.
Paddy made his Inside the Factory debut beside Cherry last month during the show’s BBC Christmas special.
Paddy and Cherry ‘got on’ as soon as they met
Fans hopes may have been raised at a possible romance after Paddy confessed to The Sun that he was nervous about working with Cherry for the first time.
He confessed: “That’s always the tricky bit. You hope you get on. But I’m telling you now, me and Cherry do so much laughing. As soon as I met her, we had the biggest talk and we just got on like that.”
The new duo comes after Gregg Wallace stepped down from the show last year after allegations against him came to light.
Paddy’s dating life has been in the spotlight since he and Christine confirmed their shock split. Despite once being an adorable couple, the pair were unable to make their 11-year relationship work.
Since the split, he’s been linked to TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher. In February 2023, they were spotted out on what onlookers suspected to be a date. However, it seems dating isn’t right for Paddy just yet.
He said earlier this year: “I tried a couple of dates last year. After 12 months of adjusting to life on my own, I felt I should give it a try rather than really wanting to. For now, I’m happy being single.”
Read more: Exclusive: Why Zara McDermott and Sam Thompson have stayed silent over their ‘split’
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