What is the Strictly curse? Here’s the full list of affected couples

Strictly Come Dancing has returned to our screens successful 2024 – for a special 20th day of the BBC’s competitory creation show.

This year’s line-up includes Love Islander Tasha Ghouri, EastEnders prima Jamie Borthwick, comedian Chris McCausland, and TV presenter Nick Knowles.

While the dancing is of people the main attraction, often what is occurring down the scenes has besides spiked viewers’ interest.

Over the past 21 bid that Strictly has aired, speculation has swirled regarding imaginable blossoming romances between personage contestants and nonrecreational dancers – a improvement known arsenic the ‘Strictly curse’.

While immoderate of the show’s rumours person been thing but talk, others person been grounded successful truth, with respective couples who met connected Strictly remaining unneurotic to this day.

As this year’s contestants lace up their dancing shoes, conscionable who has the curse affected successful the past?

What is the ‘Strictly curse’?

The Strictly curse doesn’t simply notation to couples gathering and falling successful emotion portion competing connected the show.

The expected curse, arsenic it is known, refers to individuals taking portion successful Strictly who are already successful relationships and who extremity up uncovering romance with chap participants.

A mates of years ago, Strictly Come Dancing co-presenter Claudia Winkleman shared her views connected the curse, telling Digital Spy: ‘I understand, it’s precise intense.

‘I don’t judge successful the curse, but I deliberation tons of radical person travel successful azygous and they mightiness person met idiosyncratic oregon had a small romance.’

The 52-year-old continued, stating: ‘It’s intoxicating, Strictly, due to the fact that you’re each portion of this bonzer juggernaut. So I don’t deliberation radical autumn successful emotion with people, they mightiness conscionable emotion the experience.’

Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped immoderate radical from getting unneurotic during filming.

Which couples person the Strictly Come Dancing curse affected?

One of the astir important cases of the Strictly curse of caller years occurred successful 2018 erstwhile comedian Seann Walsh was photographed kissing his nonrecreational spouse Katya Jones.

Katya, 35, was joined to chap dancer Neil Jones, 42, astatine the time, portion Seann, 38, was successful a narration with histrion Rebecca Humphries.

After the pictures emerged, Katya shared a connection connected Twitter, writing: ‘I’m truthful atrocious astir immoderate offence oregon wounded I whitethorn person caused with my actions.

‘I wasn’t reasoning and it was a one-off mistake aft immoderate drinks. I emotion my hubby and we are precise blessed together, this is not a reflection connected our relationship.’

In August 2019, she and Neil announced their separation aft 11 years together, portion Seann and Rebecca divided soon aft the incident.

In 2018, tv presenter Stacey Dooley won the sixteenth bid of Strictly Come Dancing with her partner, Kevin Clifton.

The mates confirmed they were successful a narration by April of the adjacent twelvemonth and person since welcomed their archetypal child. However, portion Stacey was competing successful Strictly, she had been successful a narration with idiosyncratic trainer Sam Tucknott.

Stacey, 37, has denied she and Kevin, 41, became romantically progressive portion taking portion successful the competition, stating: ‘It was overmuch aboriginal down the enactment for us.’

Kevin, connected the different hand, was antecedently joined to chap Strictly Come Dancing nonrecreational dancer Karen Hauer, announcing their divided successful March 2018 aft 3 years of marriage.

After ending Strictly arsenic runners-up successful 2018, Joe Sugg, 33, and Dianne Buswell, 35, got unneurotic pursuing overmuch speculation astir the authorities of their relationship.

Dianne split from her boyfriend, Emmerdale histrion Anthony Quinlan, portion taking portion successful the competition.

However, the dancer antecedently said she doesn’t judge successful the Strictly curse.

‘Obviously we walk truthful galore hours with our spouse but we’re nonrecreational dancers, we person done this our full lives,’ she told Heart successful October 2019.

‘It’s mean for us. It doesn’t mean conscionable due to the fact that you walk truthful overmuch clip unneurotic you’re going to extremity up together.’

In November 2013, Countdown prima Rachel Riley, 38, announced that she was separating from her husband, Jamie Gilbert, who she met astatine university.

Later that year, she and her Strictly creation spouse Pasha Kovalev, 44, started dating. They joined successful 2019 and person 2 daughters together.

Bake Off victor John Whaite besides acknowledged the Strictly curse’s powerfulness – aft admitting to falling successful emotion with his creation spouse Johannes Radebe, 37, portion taking portion successful the show.

Now, John, 35, (who competed successful the 2021 bid of Strictly) opened up up of the publishing of his memoir ‘Dancing connected Eggshells: Kitchen, ballroom & the messy inbetween’ confessing helium ‘fell successful love’ with his Strictly nonrecreational spouse Johannes Radebe.

The brace were the archetypal antheral same-sex mates to instrumentality portion successful the amusement and ended up arsenic runners-up, with Rose Ayling-Ellis and spouse Giovanni Pernice yet proving victorious successful the show’s 19th series.

Is it really a Strictly blessing?

In 2022, Tyler West and Molly Rainford ‘confirmed’ their narration aft months of speculation.

The brace met backmost successful September past twelvemonth connected the competitory creation show, and rumours had flown astir aft it was reported they were getting person since they deed the roadworthy for the Strictly unrecorded tour.

Radio big Tyler, 28, gave the improvement a rebrand and referred to the curse arsenic a ‘blessing’ arsenic it led him to EastEnders histrion Molly, 23. Sweet!

The mates are a small antithetic successful that they were not paired together, but rather, they were some competing successful the bid with nonrecreational dancers – Molly was dancing with Carlos Gu, portion Tyler was moving and grooving with Dianne.

Also, catching each other’s eyes crossed the creation level were Gemma Atkinson, 39, and Gorka Marquez, 34, successful 2017.

Once again they were separated during the week with partners Aljaž Škorjanec and Alexandra Burke respectively, but sparks flew betwixt the singletons. Just a mates of months aft their bid drew to a close, they announced their narration to the world.

They’ve since gone connected to get engaged, and person welcomed 2 children unneurotic – Thiago, one, and Mia, five.

Strictly Come Dancing continues connected Saturday astatine 7pm connected BBC One and iPlayer.

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