AJ Odudu has said she finds it “exciting” that people are so invested in her dance relationship with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Kai Widdrington.
Following some heated performances, fans of the show have speculated if the dance partnership between the TV presenter, 33, and the professional dancer, 26, has developed into more than friendship.
The couple have been storming the leaderboard in the dance series and the judges have continuously praised the pair for their chemistry on the dancefloor.
Odudu said: “I find it exciting that everyone’s interested in us enough to take note of all of these things.
“The way I see it is, everyone can see how well we’re getting on and how hard we’re working in order to try our best each and every week to put in a solid performance.”
When asked whether the rumours about them being more than friends are true or not, Odudu joked: “Well, one thing that is definitely for sure is, we are doing a lot of dancing.”
During Halloween week the pair were visited in rehearsals by Odudu’s younger nieces and nephews, where she told them: “I’m really loving it (Strictly), I love learning new dances, I like all the costumes and I really like Kai”, to which her young nephew Odhran replied: “Why don’t you just kiss him?”
Odudu also revealed that her nephew expressed concern when Widdrington danced with Nadiya Bychkova in the professional routine, adding: “He got jealous on my behalf… He was like, ‘who is this?’”
We couldn't keep our snake eyes off AJ and Kai's dangerously good routine 🐍@AJOdudu @Kaiwidd pic.twitter.com/rDLEIvAWPF
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 30, 2021
Co-host Claudia Winkleman also told the couple, after they received positive comments from the judges for their Viennese waltz to Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande, that if there was a time for the pair to kiss on air it would be then.
When asked how they react to all the speculation about their relationship, Odudu said: “It’s all just a bit of fun, isn’t it?
“I mean, at the end of the day, me and Kai are just focused on the Strictly experience as a whole, and we’re just focused on dancing and putting our best performance forward each and every week.
“So none of that stuff bogs us down at all. We don’t have time to be pressed to be totally honest with you.
“And Claudia is so lovely, and is so kind to us each and every week, so it’s all fun and games.”
This is Widdrington’s first year on the show, having previously performed on the Irish version of Dancing With The Stars.
Discussing his experience of the competition so far, he said: “It’s just been brilliant, every single week has been amazing.
“Since week one when we came out with the jive and we broke that record, or whatever it was, and the iconic performances we’ve had since then…
“I’m having the best time, we’re having a ball together, we get on like a house on fire, we train to ungodly hours.”
The couple also noted that they have met a lot of each other’s families on FaceTime calls or in person, and revealed Odudu met Widdrington’s mother on the first day as she had deliberately video-called her son during rehearsals so she could be introduced to the TV presenter.