Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer AJ Pritchard, 24, was first partnered up with Claudia Fragapane, 21, back in 2016 which was his first time on the show dancing with a contestant. In an unearthed interview with What’s On TV, he said: “It was strange dancing with Claudia at first because I’d only ever performed with my professional partner, Chloe Hewitt, who’s also on the show. “But Claudia’s amazing – we’re both very competitive and like to train hard, so we suit each other perfectly.” In the same candid chat, AJ went on to say he was not prepared for the “craziness” of the show.
He explained: “I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m basically learning on the job; about camera angles and the way everything works.
“Also, nothing prepared me for the craziness of Strictly – it’s a massive show.”
AJ and Claudia’s dancing journey ended in the semi-final round in a dance-off against Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse.
Last year, AJ danced with The Saturdays singer Mollie King, 30.
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The duo’s close bond fuelled romance rumours, but the dancing duo continuously claimed they were just friends.
Unfortunately for the pair, their time on Strictly Come Dancing also came to and end in the semi-final.
This year, the dancer was in the same situation with Paralympian Lauren Steadman, 26.
The pair faced a dance-off with Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev in the semi-final with the judges saving the latter.
AJ previously gushed over Lauren, saying the pair had grown close and he was “protective” of her.
He told The Mirror: “I am very protective of Lauren because we have worked so closely together.
“There are different things that she will talk about in training that she would never talk about on camera.
“It’s for that reason that we have grown so close together and we will be friends for life and who knows in the future.
“You never know what is going to happen.”
Lauren also recently gushed over AJ, saying his smile was all she could see when they danced together.
When asked if she notices the crowd during a dance performance, she told the Telegraph’s Talking Strictly podcast: “All I see is AJ’s smile.”
Taken back by the comment, AJ replied: “Oh cheeky, I like that one – I’ll take that.”