Strictly Come Dancing star Ranvir Singh has downplayed the suggestion that she and professional Giovanni Pernice are anything more than dance partners.
Throughout their time in the competition, Ranvir and Giovanni have been at the centre of speculation about the nature of their relationship.
Over the weekend, their Argentine Tango routine did little to dispel the rumours, with head judge Shirley Ballas commenting: “Well [that routine] made me rather hot under the collar I have to say.
“I felt like you were in your own room and we were all watching from the window, as your legs got entwined and your lips puckered… and you almost kissed each other – it was so hot! It was so sensational.”
Ranvir – who protested at the time, joking “my mum’s watching!” – was asked about Giovanni by her Good Morning Britain colleagues on Tuesday morning, but insisted there was nothing going on between them.
When Piers Morgan questioned if there’d been “hanky panky”, she shot back: “No, of course not. There hasn’t – there really hasn’t.”
“We get on,” Ranvir said. “It’s just that we both ... I suppose what it is, is there’s a performance element to the dancing, which is all about telling the story about two people.
“I mean, of course when you keep replaying that bit, it’s slightly awkward, thank you very much.”
She added: “He’s very much about the energy of the performance. It’s so much more than just about learning the steps or learning the routine, or any of those things.”
Ranvir and Giovanni aren’t the only ones who’ve had to contend with Strictly rumours this year, though, with fellow contestants HRVY and Maisie Smith having also been at the centre of headlines about a potential romance.
While HRVY has maintained that they are just friends, he has said that he isn’t ruling out a romance in the future, when the Strictly stars are allowed to leave their respective support bubbles.
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.