AJ Pritchard puts an arm around Strictly dance partner Saffron Barker, keeping her close as they share earphones to listen to music.
That short length of cord might be the only reason for the touching display.
But, after working together for less than three weeks, AJ, who is dating dancer Abbie Quinnen, and Saffron, who is single, seem incredibly close.
During training this week, they gazed tenderly into each other’s eyes as they practised their steamy cha-cha to Jess Glynne’s One Touch.
And outside their London training room they seemed just as keen to keep a firm hold on one another as they walked along the street.
YouTuber Saffron, 19, was also seen gazing affectionately at 24-year-old AJ as he shared something with her on his phone, which left her smiling.
Saffron, a vlogger with more than two million followers, is a dead ringer for AJ’s girlfriend Abbie, 24, a fellow professional dancer who has been officially dating the Strictly star since July, when he announced it on Instagram .
Now Abbie may wonder if she is to become a victim of the Strictly “curse” blamed for break-ups which happen with alarming regularity every year.
Last week, AJ insisted Abbie should have no fears about the “curse”.
On Good Morning Britain, he told Ben Shephard: “My girlfriend Abbie, she’s a dancer as well.
“She goes away and does her dancing she understands the long hours and hard work.
“We always want the dance on Saturday to be the best dance possible. She’s not worried at all.”
Ben has admitted his wife Annie won’t let him go on Strictly for fear it will mean the end of their marriage.
Saffron, who lives with her parents and three brothers in Brighton, may be following in the footsteps of fellow YouTuber Joe Sugg, 28, who last year reached the final with Aussie partner Dianne Buswell, 30.
They were inseparable during training and finally revealed they were a couple once the series had ended. Since then, they have moved in together.
Last week, Saffron and AJ got off to a flying start, scoring 27 for their energetic tango routine, putting them in fifth place as they go into week two.
Prior to the show starting, Saffron explained that she had dance lessons in jazz, modern and ballet up to the age of 10.
But she said: “I wouldn’t say I have got dance experience because I’m really not that great, it definitely wasn’t ballroom or Latin.”
Asked if she hoped to meet the love of her life on the show, she said: “I haven’t really thought about that, to be honest.
"I am just so focused on getting the steps right and trying not to fall over, which I haven’t succeeded at because I did fall over on my face, which was very embarrassing.”
That happened during training for the group dance when she collided with dance pro Gorka Marquez, 29.
Saffron said she was approached by producers to take part after she tried unsuccessfully to land a place last year.
Two years ago, AJ was paired with Saturdays singer Mollie King, 32, and it was rumoured the pair were romantically involved.
When the show ended, however, they went their separate ways.
But there have been a string of Strictly romances.
Last year, Stacey Dooley, 32, ditched her boyfriend of three years, Sam Tucknott, after falling for her dance pro partner Kevin Clifton, 36.
There was a furore when dance pro Katya Jones, 30, and partner Seann Walsh, 33, were caught kissing.
It ended his five-year relationship with girlfriend Rebecca Humphries and earlier this year Katya and her husband Neil Jones announced their marriage was over.
In 2017, Giovanni Pernice, 29, and partner, The Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts, 38, got together, as did actress Gemma Atkinson, 34, and dancer Gorka Marquez, 34, who now have a daughter.
Countdown’s Rachel Riley, 33, and her partner on the show Pasha Kovalev, 39, are expecting a baby soon.
The BBC declined to comment.
