Strictly's Pete Wicks supports I'm A Celeb's Maura Higgins with sweet three-word praise

I'm A Celebrity campmate Maura Higgins has received support from Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks following her success in the first eating Bushtucker Trial of the new series

Reality TV star Pete Wicks shared a message of support towards Maura Higgins this weekend after she took part in the first eating trial of the new series of I'm A Celebrity.

Maura, 33, who's a campmate on the ITV show, was thought to have been dating Strictly Come Dancing contestant Pete, 36, in recent months. The Love Island finalist however insisted that she was "single" prior to entering the jungle.

Pete has been supporting Maura amid her stint on I'm A Celebrity and reacted on Sunday morning to footage of her on the show. He was among those in the comments section of a post shared by Maura's account - which is being run by her manager while she's in the jungle - on Instagram.

The post included clips of Maura taking on the first eating bushtucker trial of the series, which aired on Saturday night. Maura and trial partner Reverend Richard Coles passed the trial and won a junk food buffet for camp. Agreeing with an identical comment Pete wrote: "WHAT A WOMAN."

The video began with a clip of Maura on Love Island in 2019, where she overheard Tom Walker making a suggestive comment ahead of them going into the hideaway. He said: "It will be interesting to see if she is all mouth or not." The video then continued with clips of Maura during the eating trial on I'm A Celebrity, with her later saying: "I don't think I can swallow it. First time I've said that." The caption of the post read: "In case you were still wondering."

There has been speculation this year of a potential romance between Maura and Pete, with rumours having circulated when they were spotted having a "passionate" kiss in August. Maura appeared to poke fun at the speculation when she was later gifted a t-shirt, which had "we can't be friends" written above a picture of her kissing Pete on the front, from Pete's pal Sam Thompson. Maura was seen wearing the top in a photo. More recently, it was exclusively revealed by the Mirror last month that Maura and Pete were spotted kissing at an afterparty for the Pride of Britain Awards.

Maura however dismissed the suggestion that she's in a relationship with Pete - who has also been romantically linked to his Strictly dance partner Jowita Przystał recently - shortly before she entered the jungle in Australia. Asked if she had been on a date with Pete prior to her jungle entrance, she coyly told the Mirror: "I mean, I've been on a date with many people."

She also appeared to play the attention down, adding: "I'm not [dating]. Where have you heard that? I date but I'm very much single. Honestly, I just think the interest in my dating life is so boring. People go on dates. Like everyone goes on dates, but then it suddenly becomes that I am in a relationship with this person, or that person."

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