AJ Pritchard, 24, took to Instagram and shared a clip of the pair training together ahead of tonight’s show. In view of his 579,000 followers, the Strictly Come Dancing professional appeared out of breath as he took a seat alongside Saffron Barker, 19. AJ said: “We’ve literally just done our band call two seconds ago. So good. Let’s watch it back now.” Saffron replied: “I need to walk in slower though.”
The BBC favourite added: “You’re a bit eager,” before the YouTube star said: “Just some constructive criticism”.
AJ captioned the Instagram post: “@saffronbarker so hard on herself.”
It comes after the ballroom professional dancer was spotted putting his arm around his Strictly dance partner Saffron after their rehearsals yesterday.
In pictures obtained by The Mirror, the pair were seen walking closely together as they left the dance studio.
AJ put his arm around Saffron’s shoulder as the dancing duo crossed the street.
The YouTube star was also seen gazing affectionately at the pro dancer as he shared something with her on his phone, which left her smiling.
However, despite the cosy pictures, the duo have insisted they are “great friends” and enjoy performing together.
A spokesperson told MailOnline: “AJ and Saffron are great friends and have been training really hard for their performance on Saturday evening – this is clearly ONLY what these pictures show.
“They are loving the competition and cannot wait to perform their Cha-Cha to the Nation.”
This comes just days after AJ – who is currently dating his girlfriend Abbie Quinlan, 24, – had insisted she has nothing to worry about concerning his friendship with Saffron.
Speaking to Ben Shephard recently on Good Morning Britain, AJ explained: “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.”
Meanwhile, AJ and Saffron are currently getting ready to take to the dance floor to perform the Cha Cha Cha to One Touch by Jess Glynne and Jax Jones.
Last week, the dancing duo performed a Tango to Meghan Trainor’s hit Lips Are Moving and scored 27 out of 40 points.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight on BBC One at 6.40pm.
