When Maura Higgins stepped onto the red carpet at Monday night's Pleasure of Britain Awards, all eyes were on her.
The Love Island star showed off a daring new look designed by celebrity hairdresser Carl Bembridge, who had trimmed her long locks into a sleek bob.
And as she posed in a stunning £972 black Dodona Avdiu dress that flaunted her unmistakable beauty, it wasn't just the attention of the paparazzi that attracted her.
Maura Higgins turned heads at the Pleasure of Britain Awards this week with her incredible outfit
She posed in a stunning £972 Dodona Avdiu black dress that flaunted her hard-to-miss embonpoint.
Because I can reveal that later that night, at an exclusive after-party held at the Crimson Bar at London's Grosvenor Home Resort, the Irish beauty locked lips with Strictly star Pete Wicks.
A kiss is just a kiss, they say. But this torrid closure could spell danger for Pete's future on the BBC's Saturday night show – the last thing the scandal-hit show needs.
Long-haired lothario Pete has also grown closer to his Polish dance partner Jowita Przystal, and she will no doubt be pained by his public display with Maura.
Pete's friends tell me he is “playing with fire” by juggling the affections of two women while appearing on the show.
Maura Baffled Fans As She Looked Cozy With Kai Widdrington At After Party
Pete Wicks and Maura Higgins were spotted attending the Bafta Awards in May
Their exploits are just the latest chapter in Strictly Come Dancing's long story of love, lust and intrigue.
When Pete, 36, met Jowita, 30, on the show a few weeks ago, producers noted their “instant chemistry.” At last month's National Television Awards, the two were seen “getting cozy,” which seemed to confirm the blossoming romance.
Last week, Pete gushed about Jowita, telling Olivia Attwood's So Improper It's Proper podcast: “She's amazing and we get on so well.” Honestly, she is one of the nicest people I have ever met… She is very positive, she is very nice and she has a very good sense of humor. So, when they were getting partners, she was the person I wanted.
And he added: “We have chemistry because we really get along very well.”
In recent weeks, Pete Wicks has fueled romance rumors with Strictly Come Dancing co-star Jowita Przystał.
On Monday, Maura posted a TikTok video of herself in Pete Wicks' muscular arms as he showed off an impressive dance move.
Week after week, fans have praised Pete and Jowita for their sizzling routines that have lit up the dancefloor, including a passionate rumba to Oasis' Don't Look Again In Anger on Saturday.
But after the couple made it through the strictly public vote and were then photographed together on the red carpet on Monday, he was seen getting cozy with Maura at the same party.
Friends say it will be a “new blow” for Jowita, who has become “closer and closer” to tattooed Pete.
The source added: “It's fair to say Jowita has a special place for Pete in her heart. She is very fond of him. She finds it very funny and they have a lot of fun together.
Maura first found fame when she appeared on Love Island in 2019.
“She is well aware of the scrutiny they face each week and hoped there would be more to come after her time on the show.”
As always with Strictly, it may take two tangos, but there's often a third waiting in the wings.
To show just how tangled the relationship network is on the show, at the same party on Monday night, newly single Strictly dancer Kai Widdrington was also seen making moves with Maura.
Kai's ex-girlfriend, strictly professional partner Nadiya Bychkova, had pointedly told reporters that she was “not friends” with her ex-partner.
However, Maura is said to have rejected Kai's advances on Monday night and kissed Pete.
One viewer said of the libidinous attendees: “It looked like an episode of Jilly Cooper's Rivals.”
Maura, 33, has been friends with Pete for years after meeting him on the reality shows circuit.
They have repeatedly rejected romance rumours, but were seen getting close at the Broadwick Resort in Soho in August and again last month at The Ship pub in Wandsworth.
Then on Monday, Maura posted a TikTok video of herself in the hunk's muscular arms, as he showed off an impressive dance move lifting her off the ground before looking lovingly into her eyes.
“She's attractive and that changes the way I look at people,” Pete said. “I think she's great and we get along really well and have for a long time.”
Pete, who rose to fame on TV show The Solely Approach Is Essex, is not the first man to find himself caught between Maura and Jowita.
Giovanni Pernice, Strictly's resident former heartthrob, dated Maura in 2021 and reportedly broke her heart before starting seeing Jowita less than a year later.
In his memoirs published earlier this year, Pete revealed that people called him “the arrogant lothario.” The grumpy idiot. The bad boy.
He added: “To be honest, most of that is true.”
Now his friends fear that his “love of female attention” will get him into trouble.
A source tells me: 'Pete has always had commitment issues, but he needs to tread very carefully. I may see it as a bit of fun, but when you're on one of the biggest shows on television, it can quickly backfire. He's playing with fire.'
In this Saturday's Strictly Halloween special, Pete and Jowita will appear as The Joker and Harley Quinn, two tempestuous lovers from the DC Comics franchise.
If this week's shenanigans are anything to go by, it'll be perfect casting.
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