Katie McGlynn dismisses rumours she'll rekindle romance with Giovanni Pernice on 'Strictly'
Watch: Who is Katie McGlynn?
Katie McGlynn has insisted that there is no romantic connection between herself and Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice, reassuring his girlfriend Maura Higgins.
The 28-year-old Coronation Street actress is due to compete on Strictly this year and was briefly romantically linked to Pernice in 2017.
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McGlynn told The Sun on Sunday she has reached out to Higgins — who rose to fame as a contestant on the 2019 series of Love Island — to make it clear she doesn't have eyes for Pernice.
“Giovanni is a really nice guy but I don’t really know him. We’re on perfectly good terms but Maura has nothing to worry about," said McGlynn.
She added: “I would never get involved with anyone that had a girlfriend. I understand that happens but I’d avoid that like the plague. If someone has a partner, they are completely off-limits.
“I never want to be that person. The amount of heartache the other person would be going through — it’s just really not nice and I’m not about that.”
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McGlynn said she hopes the rumours will "die down" once she and Pernice are assigned to their partners for the series.
She revealed she's not interested in men at the moment anyway and said she has even deleted the exclusive dating app Raya, which caters to wealthy and high-profile clientele.
The actor added: “I think it’s fantastic when people find love on Strictly — it’s such a lovely story — but I don’t want that. I don’t want anything to distract me from dancing."
McGlynn recently joined the cast of Hollyoaks as mysterious character Becky Quentin and will juggle filming commitments with her training for Strictly Come Dancing.
She won a National Television Award this week for her performance as Sinead Tinker in Coronation Street, and particularly the cancer storyline which led to her departure from the show last year.
McGlynn had joined the ITV soap in 2013, in the wake of her breakout role as Scout in BBC classroom drama Waterloo Road.
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She will now compete on Strictly in a packed line-up of stars, which includes EastEnders alum Nina Wadia, comedian Robert Webb and Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty.
The series is due to begin with the pre-recorded launch show on 18 September, in which the celebrities will find out which professional dancer will be their partner.
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