PADDY McGuinness has been forced to speak out after he was accused of dating his new telly co-star Cherry Healey.
Paddy, 51, got tongues wagging after sharing a slew of cosy photographs of himself and Inside The Factory’s Cherry with fans.
The comedian and presenter shared shots of himself with his arm around Cherry as they enjoyed a slap up meal and hung out together in a book shop.
The pair were also pictured cuddled up together at a caravan park, and photographed together at the end of Paddy’s epic charity bike ride for Children In Need.
Paddy, whose divorce with wife Christine was finalised in October last year, added to the speculation by branding Cherry an “absolute diamond”.
He said on Instagram: “The whole crew on Inside The Factory have been a joy to work with. A small but perfectly formed team.
“Also I’d never met @cherryhealey before but we hit it off straight away. Absolutely love working with her, she’s an absolute diamond!“
Getting straight to the point, fans were quick to ask Paddy if he is dating Cherry.
The follower said: “Ooh I’m liking this new lady Paddy? You look cute together . A subtle introduction.”
Another asked: “Is this a soft launch of the new Mrs?”
A third added: “Is this your new love? If so all the very best (you look very comfortable together).”
And someone else even said: “I suspect your soulmate.”
But Paddy was fast in hitting back at the romance speculation and quickly shut it down.
He replied to his fans: “Not at all. She’s just a great person. .”
Paddy made his Inside The Factory debut alongside Cherry last month during the BBC show’s Christmas special.
Cherry, 44, had co-hosted the programme with Gregg Wallace since 2015, but Paddy has now been brought in to replace him.
The new series kicks off this week and will see Paddy going back to the Warburtons plant in Bolton where he had his first job.
He previously spoke to The Sun’s TV Mag about his working relationship with Cherry.
Cherry got divorced from her husband Roly in 2016 after tying the knot on-screen for BBC Three’s Cherry Gets Married.
The presenter has two children and is in a relationship with Justin Mountstephens, the CEO of a sports marketing agency.
Speaking about the fact he’d never met Cherry before they shot Inside The Factory, Paddy said: “That’s always the tricky bit, you hope you get on.
“But I’m telling you now, me and Cherry do so much laughing.
“As soon as I met her, we had the biggest talk and we just got on like that.
“This is testament to her – when I did my Children in Need challenge, she turned up in Kendal to surprise me – she even brought me up a lasagne she’d made!”
