Lee Ryan and his new Strictly Come Dancing partner Nadiya Bychkova have already formed a close bond, and were pictured cuddling and holding hands as they left their rehearsals on Thursday. The snaps show Lee reaching out to touch Nadiya's palm as well as pulling her in for a cuddle and a sweet kiss on the head, as the professional dancer smiles. In other photographs obtained by The Sun, they are pictured walking hand-in-hand. With a few week's training under their belts already, it's not uncommon for the show's couples to form a close friendship from day one – though the pictures have sparked rumours about the infamous 'Strictly curse'.
© Photo: SplashImage credit: Splash
Nadiya is in a relationship with Slovenian football player Matija Skarabot, who she shares a young daughter with. She often shares sweet couple's photographs on Instagram, as well as adoring snaps of their little girl. Last year, in her first series on Strictly, she was partnered with Davood Ghadami – who she proudly reached the quarter-finals with.
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Of her new pairing with Lee, she recently wrote on Instagram: "Aaaaaaaahhhh… beyond happy it's @officialleeryan – can't wait to start with rehearsals. That's gonna be sooooooooo much fun, yeeeeeeeeeeees," alongside plenty of excitable emojis – so she was certainly happy with the partnership! On Monday, meanwhile, she shared a sweet snap of the twosome arm-in-arm, writing, " Here you go! We have it! Team name… #teamblondies."
© Photo: SplashImage credit: Splash
Lee has also posted plenty of adorable photos of himself and Nadiya on his Instagram account – on Friday he wrote: "@nadiyabychkova First week together has been amazing!! We’ve worked so hard and accomplished so much. Loving @bbcstrictly so happy to be on this show!! I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have this experience. Feeling so happy and truly blessed, like everyday I can feel the sun on our faces. #godsblessings".
READ MORE: Countdown's Rachel Riley responds to trolls who called her a Strictly 'curse'
