A celebrity who recently competed on Strictly Come Dancing reportedly had an affair with their professional dancer partner shortly before their relationship ended.
The star from a previous series of the scandal-hit BBC show allegedly had a “fling” with the dancer amid rumours of a “great connection” between the pair.
It comes just days after a separate report claimed a married male celebrity was filmed kissing a professional dancer backstage on a recent Strictly series.
Regarding the newest alleged scandal, a source told the Mail: “One of the celebrities had a fling with one of the dancers while they were still with a partner at home - and everyone has just found out.
“It's unclear if their partner ever found out but the relationship later ended so it's not inconceivable that they did.”
The dance pairing reportedly managed to keep their alleged affair a secret from the rest of the cast and production team during their time on Strictly.
Fellow contestants allegedly thought the duo just had “insane chemistry” and have now said “the signs were there” all along while they were filming.
The insider added: “This just could not come at a worse time. People talk about the 'curse of Strictly' meaning that it kills off marriages and relationships - and goodness knows there have been plenty of those episodes.
“But lately it's felt like a curse applies to the show itself. It's just been one thing after another.”
The Standard has contacted a Strictly spokesperson for comment.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, a former married contestant was reportedly caught kissing a professional dancer.
The male celebrity, who has a “carefully cultivated family man image”, was reportedly seen smooching a female dancer in a dressing room.
The dancer was allegedly sat on the knee of the former contestant and they shared a kiss in a 12-second video secretly recorded on the Strictly set at Elstree Studios.
The pair in question have dismissed romance rumours in the past and the alleged footage would “destroy” the male celebrity’s marriage, sources claimed.
The alleged clip, taken by a member of the production team, has been doing the rounds on WhatsApp and could “rock the very foundations” of the BBC dance competition.
“This incident has been the talk of Strictly in very need-to-know for the past couple of years,” a source told The Sun.
The insider went on: “The kiss only lasts a few seconds but it would more than likely end his marriage and destroy his carefully cultivated family man image.
“It has been shared around on WhatsApp though as everyone is slightly sickened by this pair’s duplicitousness especially as they always knocked down scurrilous romance rumours.”
It is not known who the alleged man and woman referred to in the report are.
The reports are just the latest in a line of controversies for the show, which has faced the dreaded “Strictly curse” for years.
The curse refers to when a contestant ends up falling for their dance partner, despite one or both of them already being in a relationship.
An infamous case was in 2018, when contestant Seann Walsh cheated on Rebecca Humphries with his married dance partner Katya Jones.
The show has also faced scandal in other areas in recent years.
Actor Amanda Abbington stepped back from filming during the 2023 season, later alleging her dance partner Giovanni Pernice had been "unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean" during rehearsals, which he denies.
A BBC report found that Pernice had not been physically aggressive but did uphold her complaints of verbal bullying and harassment, and apologised to Abbington.
He has since moved on to the Italian version of Strictly.
Last year, opera singer Wynne Evans drew criticism from viewers who felt he was overly touchy with his partner Katya Jones on the show.
He was later heard making an “inappropriate” sexual remark during the launch of the Strictly live tour. Evans apologised, but he was dropped from the tour and lost his GoCompare advert deal.
