STRICTLY Come Dancing newbie Pete Wicks and professional dancer Jowita Pryzstal couldn’t stop giggling as they took a break from rehearsals.
On a sunny day in the capital, the duo looked to be getting on like a house on fire ahead of the new series, which starts next month.
The official celebrity and dancer pairings haven’t been revealed yet, but Pete and Jowita looked like they’d have great chemistry on the dancefloor.
Former Glitterball champ Jowita, who won the show with wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin in 2022, jokingly pointed a finger at the ex-Towie lothario, and they beamed as they posed together for a photo on the balcony.
The stunning dancer, who previously dated Giovanni Pernice, wore a green sports bra and matching cycle shorts, while long-haired Pete was in his customary black tee and jeans.
The reality TV veteran was officially announced as a contestant on the Strictly social channels this week.
And his new love interest, Love Island star Maura Higgins, left a very rude comment underneath the confirmation.
It followed us exclusively revealing that the pair kissed at Broadwick Soho Hotel over the weekend.
Irish beauty Maura appeared to address their budding relationship in her saucy Instagram post.
She wrote: “I know what those hips can do PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!!.”
An onlooker at the swanky hotel told The Sun that Pete joined Maura on Saturday evening where she had been having lunch with friends.
They said: “Maura had been sitting on the terrace with friends for an hour before Pete arrived.
“After they’d sat there for a while Maura went in for a long kiss with Pete. It wasn’t the kind of kiss you’d give a friend, it was very passionate.
“Maura and Pete seemed to be really into each other and kept looking into each other’s eyes before kissing again a number of times.
“When it got dark they moved into the hotel’s Flute bar and Pete sat with his arm around Maura all evening.
“They were all over each other. They looked totally in love and weren’t trying to hide it from anyone.”
Pete first wooed Maura, nearly one year ago on glamorous night out at the Pride of Britain awards.
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
