Following her split from boyfriend Curtis Pritchard, rumours have been swirling that Maura Higgins has grown close to her Dancing On Ice partner Alexander Demetriou.
The 28-year-old is married to fellow pro ice skater Carlotta Edwards, but reports have suggested they’re on the rocks due to his 'increasingly cosy' relationship with the former Love Island star.
While neither Maura nor Alexander have broken their silence on the situation, it’s now been claimed that this year’s Dancing On Ice stars have been banned from talking about them.
It’s thought that show bosses hope rumours will die down if contestants maintain their silence.
A source told The Sun, "They told everyone that nobody should make a comment on social media or talk to fans or media about the story - even if it's to defend Maura or Alexander."
CHECK OUT all the Dancing On Ice winners
CLOSER Dancing On Ice winners - slider with cover pic
1 of 12Think you can remember all the winners of Dancing On Ice? Let's see...
2 of 12Gaynor Faye, 2006
Emmerdale actress Gaynor Faye won the first ever series of Dancing On Ice alongside her professional ice skating partner Daniel Whiston, under the watchful eye of judges Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Nicky Slater, Jason Gardiner and Karen Kresge.
3 of 12Kyran Bracken, 2007
Rugby player Kyran Bracken won the show - and the hearts of viewers - in the second series. Beating Clare Buckfield in the final showdown, Kyran won with his professional partner Melanie Lambert.
4 of 12Suzanne Shaw, 2008
Hear'Say singer Suzanne Shaw won the 2008 series with professional ice skater Matt Evers. Both of their final performances scored a perfect 30/30, which was the first time that had happened on the show, beating runner-up Chris Fountain.
5 of 12Ray Quinn, 2009
The X Factor star-turned-Broadway star Ray Quinn won the show in 2009 alongside his professional partner Maria Filippov. The couple beat out journalist Donal MacIntyre and his partner Florentine Houdinière with their final performance. He also won the returners' series in 2014.
6 of 12Hayley Tamaddon, 2010
7 of 12Sam Attwater, 2011
EastEnders' actor Sam Attwater won the coveted prize of first place in 2011 wth his partner Brianne Delcourt, beating TV presenter Laura Hamilton. The pair also returned for the 2014 series, but finished fourth.
8 of 12Matthew Wolfenden, 2012
Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden won the 2012 series with his professional ice skating partner Nina Ulanova, beating fellow soap star Jorgie Porter to the top. This was also the year that Louie Spence joined the judging panel, if you remember...
9 of 12Beth Tweddle, 2013
Olympic champion gymnast Beth Tweddle won the 2013 series alongside her partner Daniel Whiston in his THIRD win on the show. She beat out EastEnders actor Matt Lapinskas and his partner Brianne Delcourt, and came third in the 2014 returners' series with Łukasz Różycki.
10 of 12Jake Quickenden, 2018
The X Factor and I'm A Celeb! runner-up Jake Quickenden finally won a reality show when he took part in Dancing On Ice in 2018 with his professional partner Vanessa Bauer, beating Coronation Street's Brooke Vincent - and she was NOT happy.
11 of 12James Jordan, 2019
James Jordan and Alexandra Schauman won 2019's trophy despite some fierce competition from Love Island's Wes Nelson and his partner, last year's winning professional Vanessa Bauer.Judges called their rendition of the famous Bolero "the best the show had ever seen" despite the first dance of the final failing to top the leader board. Early on in the 2019 competition, James was criticized for having an unfair advantage over the other contestants because of his extensive dancing experience.
12 of 12Joe Swash, 2020
Joe Swash and Alex Murphy took home the 2020 trophy, despite Diversity's Peri Kiely being the bookies favourite since the beginning of the competition.However, it wasn't all plain sailing for Joe throughout the competition. Not only did he find himself at the bottom of the leaderboard in week three and have an ear infection, he also had to swap professional dance partners after Alexandra Schauman fell and injured herself during rehearsals, forcing her to drop out of the show.
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The show’s final took place last weekend, with Joe Swash crowned champion, and it was reported that Maura and Carlotta had to be “kept apart” to avoid a confrontation.
A source revealed, “Dancing On Ice is a family show and the last thing they wanted was a catfight. Backstage they were kept apart with Maura being taken under pro skater Matt Evers' wing. Even the make-up department were briefed to work on them at different times.”
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This all comes as judges Torvill and Dean spoke out about the show’s relationship “curse”, which has seen a number of contestants break up with their partners.
Christopher Dean said, “Romance on ice happens because you get into this bubble and it’s very close, tactile and, more than anything, there is trust that has to go into the celebrity-pro partnerships.
“On Dancing On Ice we’ve had a lot of partnerships that have come together and people that have stayed together — and a lot of babies — on both the production and cast side.”
Jayne Torvill added, “It’s a good thing so it’s not a curse on the Dancing On Ice side.”