John Whaite’s fiancé Paul Atkins has said he is not concerned about the so-called Strictly Come Dancing “curse” striking their 13-year relationship.
The Strictly “curse” refers to the fact several cast members have split from their real-life partners while appearing on the show, with many then getting together with their dance partners.
However, Paul has insisted that former Great British Bake Off winner John is too exhausted from training for the BBC ballroom show to be up to anything else.
Paul was pressed on the matter by Steph McGovern as he appeared on Channel 4′s Steph’s Packed Lunch on Tuesday alongside John, who is the show’s resident chef.
He said: “If you could see him at the end of the day after a full day’s rehearsing, he can barely walk so there’s no room for anything else.
“He crawls through the door at the end of the day.”
John and his professional dance partner Johannes Radebe have made a huge impression on both viewers and the judges since debuting as the show’s first male pairing last month.
The two finished joint-second on the leaderboard last weekend, picking up 31 points out of 40 for their Cha Cha to Years & Years’ Starstruck.
This weekend will see them dancing the Paso Doble to He’s A Pirate from Pirates Of The Caribbean, as part of this year’s Movie Week special.
Last week, Steph McGovern also didn’t shy away from asking Greg Wise and Karen Hauer about the Strictly “curse”, after his wife Emma Thompson’s saucy comments about it.
Greg insisted he was “too old” and “too tired” for any extracurricular activity after training, after Emma joked she’d packed him off to training with a condom.
“We’re 26 years in now, I think any of that kind of shenanigans… we’re told old, we haven’t got the energy,” he said.
“I’ve just the energy to do a step-ball change, I can’t do anything else, really.”
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.