It's been almost a week since Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell announced her split from soap star Anthony Quinlan. And in a new interview with the Daily Star, the Emmerdale actor has dismissed the Strictly curse as the reason for their breakup. "We're still really good friends - it's just distance played a part," he explained. "There were all these rumours about the Strictly curse but it wasn't that." Commenting on Dianne's partnership with Joe Sugg, he added: "I'm actually rooting for Joe and Dianne. They're doing absolutely amazing in strictly and I still think the world of the girl. We were really close, it just wasn't meant to be."
© Photo: InstagramAnthony Quinlan and Dianne Buswell split last week
On Friday, a representative for Diane confirmed the split, saying: "Due to their busy schedules and the distance they have separated but they still remain close friends." At the time it was reported that the dancer had "grown close" with her celebrity Strictly partner, YouTuber Joe. "Everyone on set's been discussing how close they'd become. It did not go unnoticed by Anthony," a source told the Sun. They added: "She's having a lot of fun with the show at the moment and is enjoying spending time with her dance partner Joe."
GALLERY: Strictly pro romances through the years
In June, the Sun had claimed that Dianne, 29, and Anthony, 34, had previously parted ways due to their long distance relationship - with the famed-haired beauty spending most of her time in London for Strictly commitments, while Anthony is based in Leeds to film Emmerdale. The pair first started dating towards the end of last year when Gemma Atkinson - who appeared on the 2017 series of Strictly - introduced them to one another.
MORE: Strictly Come Dancing curse strikes again as couple split up
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
