Their chemistry on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor is undeniably amazing, which has sparked rumours of a romance. However, AJ Pritchard and Saffron Barker are the best of friends - and nothing more. The professional dancer is happily loved-up with girlfriend, fellow dancer Abbie Quinnen, while Saffron is "very much single" at the moment.
© Photo: BBCAJ Pritchard and Saffron Barker have a huge loyal fanbase
Earlier this month, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan surprised the duo after cheekily asking if the pair are "at it". He asked: "Are you two at it yet like all the Strictly couples or not? You all end up with the curse right? Don't tell me you haven’t tried. Have you or not?" The pair instantly denied a romantic connection, with AJ explaining to Piers that he was in a relationship.
"How does she feel about you dancing with a hot blonde," replied Piers, to which the pro dancer said: "She is a hot blonde also so I'm very happy when I dance with her... It's the profession, Piers. Obviously, if you want to make it work, you obviously do 12 hours a day in the studio. You want to do fantastic for 12 million people live on Saturday night. You work hard." Saffron added: "I just look at AJ as such a good friend."
READ: Who is Strictly star Saffron Barker's family?
Just days later, both AJ and Saffron opened up about their close relationship during a chat with HELLO! at the Global Gift Gala. "Honestly I never could have imagined it [being such close friends]," gushed the YouTube influencer. "I think there's always this talk about how close everybody gets and you kind of just think 'Ahh really?' but it is really true, not only have I become such good friends with AJ but I've become such good friends with so many of the other cast as well."
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The 19-year-old also said that they became close after spending so many hours together in rehearsals, with AJ adding: "You go through the same situation, you perform in front of 12 million people, you have the same highs and the same lows and so you connect with somebody that you maybe wouldn't do in a normal way so we're obviously going to get closer and build that friendship."
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AJ, who was previously linked to his former dance partner, Mollie King, during the 2017 series, met his girlfriend Abbie on the Burn the Floor dance tour. They confirmed their romance earlier this year after AJ shared a beautiful snap of the couple during their first holiday at the Aldemar Knossos Royal on the Greek island of Crete. Holding hands in the photo, AJ simply captioned his: "Feeling HAPPY..." while Abbie captioned hers: "Making memories."
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