Strictly romance just an act, claims winner Jay
STRICTLY Come Dancing winner Jay McGuiness yesterday denied he was in a relationship with his dance partner Aliona Vilani after pictures emerged of them in a tender embrace.
The pair were seen walking together in the early hours of Sunday after leaving a Strictly party following their win. In one photo Miss Vilani, 31, placed a hand behind 25-year-old McGuiness’s neck and pulled him towards her to whisper in his ear.
But McGuiness, of boy band The Wanted, said they ‘created’ the chemistry for their routines and were just close friends. He also insisted that Miss Vilani’s husband, Vincent Kavanagh, had become part of the ‘family’ and revealed they all had dinner together at the Ritz on Sunday.
During a round of interviews, he admitted to ITV morning host Lorraine Kelly that he loves Miss Vilani ‘to pieces’, but said: ‘When you dance with someone you have to create sometimes romance. And people then want to see that.’
He added: ‘Honestly you spend that many hours together that you talk about every single thing ... No matter what happens you get a best friend out of Strictly.’
Speaking to Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2, McGuiness said the evening had come to a very innocent end, with them eating sandwiches in his kitchen with both of their families.
McGuiness and Miss Vilani were crowned the 13th winners of the show on Saturday in a shock victory, as they had been at the bottom of the leader board based on judges’ scores. The pair will join the rest of this series’s dancers on tour in January.