Curtis Pritchard reveals split from Maura Higgins left him ‘hurt’ and they haven’t spoken since
CURTIS Pritchard says he was left “hurt” by his split from Maura Higgins and was shocked by rumours she and Alex Demetriou are now a couple.
The reality TV star, who fell for Maura on Love Island last year, told how they agreed to end their seven- month relationship in a phone call last month.
But Curtis admits he was blindsided by the Irish star’s decision to publicly reveal their break-up — and hasn’t spoken to her since.
The dancer has also tried to ignore reports surrounding Maura’s suspected relationship with Dancing On Ice pro Alex, saying: “It’s not nice to read about.”
Speaking out for the first time, Curtis said: “I have no proof that anything more has happened between them. I don’t like to think about it. I don’t want to look back over the past few months for warning signs. But it’s not nice to read about her relationship with Alex and to see pictures of them together.”
After Curtis and Maura, 29, finished fourth on the ITV2 dating show in September they both landed lucrative TV gigs.
While Curtis was cast as the receptionist on The Greatest Dancer, Maura won her own slot on This Morning and became a contestant on Dancing On Ice. Curtis told how cracks began to appear the more time they spent apart.
He says: “We did have lots of good times — one of the highlights was when I asked her to be my girlfriend at Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent. But we were spending a lot of time apart. I was on The Greatest Dancer and she was training for Dancing On Ice from December."
“I went to her first three shows, but after that she asked me not to come. She said she had terrible nerves and it was easier without me there. I just accepted that. I wasn’t concerned about there being anything romantic between her and Alex."
“But as the weeks went on our relationship deteriorated, and then at the beginning of March we agreed to go our separate ways. It hurt. I wasn’t ready for everyone to know we had split up — I wanted some time. It was a shock to see that she had announced it on social media hours later.”
Maura opened up last week about her split from Curtis in an exclusive interview with Fabulous magazine.
She admitted she falls out of love quickly and added: “I’m 29 and I want somebody that I can see a future with. Curtis is 24 — maybe he did want that, but I felt it wasn’t going in that direction.”
Curtis went on: “I’ve always felt age is just a number. I could have seen us having a future, yes. But our careers got in the way.”
He adds: “If she does move on fast, well, everyone is different. But there are no hard feelings. I haven’t thought about how I’d feel if she and Alex did go public as a couple. But if so, I’d wish them all the best.”
Curtis credits working with his brother, Strictly pro AJ, for helping him move on from the break-up.
He had been performing on the AJ Live tour until it had to be postponed because of coronavirus. Curtis says: “I’m happy single for now — the tour was a good distraction from the split.”
During lockdown, Curtis and AJ have focused their energy on fundraising for the NHS. Their Dress Up, Dance, Donate project has seen them teach routines to fans. And it looks to be the first of many joint ventures for the brothers after AJ announced last month that he was quitting Strictly.
Curtis went on: “That was a big career change for AJ, but we are excited. We’d love to present our own TV show together. The sky’s the limit.”
Strictly call for Cara
STRICTLY bosses are desperate to land a high-profile gay celeb – so they can have a same-sex pairing on the next series.
Sources say the BBC show’s casting team have been tasked with finding a star who will enjoy performing with a partner of the same gender. Names on their dream list include Cara Delevingne and former Bake Off host Sue Perkins.
My source said: “The bosses are keen to have a same-sex partnership this year. Ideally they would like two women, but they haven’t ruled out two men dancing together either."
“There’s no doubt in their minds this is the way forward.”
Flo has blondie ambition
OSCAR nominee Florence Pugh has revealed her dream part would be playing Blondie legend Debbie Harry in a film about her life. She told how she idolised Debbie and Sixties icon Dusty Springfield while she was growing up.
She said: “Who would I love to play? Blondie – just because she’s so cool. And I grew up pretending I was Dusty because she had a really low voice and I was like (in a low husky voice), ‘Hey, I have a low voice too’.”
Florence – who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Little Women last year – has been the toast of Hollywood ever since. Recalling the moment the film’s director told her about the Academy Awards nomination, Florence said: “Greta Gerwig called me and she just screamed inaudibly for about two minutes."
"She said, ‘I knew it! I knew it! I didn’t want to say anything, but I knew it!’And I was like, ‘OK, I wish you could have told me!’”
AIM HIGH JAMIE
JAMIE Dornan is as hooked as the rest of us on Netflix’s Tiger King.
ut he reckons he’d be overlooked for the role of Joe Exotic in a movie about his life, admitting he was more “husband material”.
He added: “Maybe I could squeeze in as one of those lads, the guy with no teeth. That’s more me.”
Always good to aim high, Jamie.
Tony in Corrie
CORRIE bosses have signed up former Benidorm star Tony Maudsley to bring some humour to the cobbles, I can reveal.
The Liverpool-born actor, who played camp hairdresser Kenneth du Beke in the ITV comedy, was due to start filming last month as the son of character Archie Shuttleworth.
But his entrance was put on hold after filming on the soap was shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak.
A Corrie source said: “The bosses are really excited about Tony joining the soap.
“He’s a great comedy actor and created one of Benidorm’s most-loved characters in Kenneth. So it’s a shame he didn’t get to start when he was supposed to. But he’s looking forward to making his entrance when things finally get back to normal.”
Nikki's loving lockdown
HOLLYOAKS beauty Nikki Sanderson is making the most of lockdown – by enjoying quality time with her boyfriend of five years.
Nikki, who shot to fame as Coronation Street’s feisty schoolgirl Candice Stowe 21 years ago, is more loved-up than ever with Greg Whitehurst. And with her other half having taken on a number of DIY projects around the home, he’s definitely racking up the brownie points with the actress.
She said: “We’ve been doing work outs together in the back garden. And Greg’s been doing all his DIY stuff. I am very impressed. We’re happier than ever.” In an exclusive interview, the actress also revealed she is stronger than ever after taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins – which starts on April 20.
And she feels that a struggle with bullying in her teens helped her to handle anything show instructor Ant Middleton threw at her.
Nikki said: “What happened to me when I was younger has made me stronger. After I did SAS, it was hard keeping it secret. Now I’m excited everyone can watch it.
Comic clip
GT hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly show off their musical, er, skills in a comic Instagram clip.
And after Ant – complete with rock star afro, right – appears to better Dec’s guitar-playing skills, his pal manages to knock out a tune on a series of percussion instruments.
He even produces a triangle for the final notes, as Ant exclaims: “Who has that in their house?!” before quitting the video call.
Don’t give up the day job, lads.
CAUGHT OUT
- FORMER Strictly contestant Saffron Barker launched the campaign #YouTubers4NHSHeroes this week – encouraging other British YouTube stars to donate income to the official NHS charity. It’s a top move, good on her.
- LAURA Whitmore isn’t winning any brownie points with boyfriend Iain Stirling in lockdown - after she gave him a bad haircut. Telling all on the BBC’s Radio 5 Live. she said: ‘It looks like the top of his head is a hat made of hair!’
- JAMES Gunn, director of movie follow-up The Suicide Squad, reckons it’s on course for an August 2021 release. He told fans this week: ‘We are still on schedule as of now.’
- TODAY will see famous tenor Andrea Bocelli give a solo performance at Milan’s Duomo Cathedral to mark Easter Sunday. He said: ‘I’m honoured and happy.’
- GEMMA Collins is busy at home. She will be on ITV2 this month with new show Diva On Lockdown. She said: ‘You want the GC, so the GC found a new way of working.’
MOST READ IN TV&SHOWBIZ
Top charity track
Jake Quickenden's charity track Quarantine Song made it into the Top 10 this week and he admits he is thrilled, despite penning it “for a laugh.”
He said: “I just wrote it as a bit of a joke.";
"The NHS does an amazing job and I think that’s why people have related to it."
"They are downloading it as they want to donate 79p to the NHS.”
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