Strictly Come Dancing fans hail Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima 'the hottest paring ever' and joke her boyfriend Sam Thompson must be 'sweating'

September 16, 2023

Strictly Come Dancing fans hail Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima ‘the hottest paring ever’ and joke her boyfriend Sam Thompson must be ‘sweating’

By Laura Parkin For Mailonline

Published: 15:03 EDT, 16 September 2023 | Updated: 15:37 EDT, 16 September 2023

Strictly Come Dancing made a triumphant return to TV screens on Saturday as the latest batch of dazzling celebrities took to the dance floor.

And fans were quick to hail Zara McDermott, 26, and her professional partner Graziano Di Prima, 29, ‘the hottest paring ever’ as the couple’s were revealed for the first time.

Viewers joked the Love Island star’s boyfriend Sam Thompson ‘must be sweating’ at home as they heaped praise on the ‘absolute fire’ partnership.

Zara and Graziano will dance the Cha Cha Cha for their first performance, with the TV personality admitting her nerves.

‘I think I’m probably the most nervous I’ve been in my life. I’m not a natural born performer, I’m not an extrovert, so this is the biggest challenge of my life,’ she said.

Fire! Strictly Come Dancing made a triumphant return to TV screens on Saturday as the latest batch of dazzling celebrities took to the dance floor

Backing them: And fans were quick to hail Zara McDermott, 26, and her professional partner Graziano Di Prima, 29, ‘the hottest paring ever’ on Saturday

Graziano added: ‘It is going to exotic, Latin and is the Cha Cha Cha darling.’

Sharing their thoughts on Twitter one fan wrote: ‘Zara and Graziano look gorgeous together. Backing them all the way.’

‘Zara and Graziano might be the hottest pairing there’s ever been?! good lord,’ another agreed.

A third echoed: ‘Zara and Graz could be absolute fire!’

Someone else joked: ‘I know Sam Thompson is crying at home right now watching Zara and Graziano.’

With other viewers writing: ‘Bet Sam Thompson is sweating now Zara’s been partnered with gratz’ and ‘Zara’s boyfriend currently crying in the green room.’

On Friday, Zara appeared on Lorraine to discuss the show – letting slip a tiny detail about her partner in the process.

The Love Island star chatted to the TV legend, 63, about her training and asked about her partnership on the upcoming show.

Watch out: Viewers joked the Love Island star’s boyfriend Sam Thompson ‘must be sweating’ at home as they heaped praise on the ‘absolute fire’ partnership

On screen: Zara and Graziano will dance the Cha Cha Cha for their first performance, with the TV personality admitting her nerves

Support: Sharing their thoughts on Twitter one fan wrote: ‘Zara and Graziano look gorgeous together. Backing them all the way’

She said: ‘He is amazing, he’s so nice. Training is tougher than I thought it would be. It’s arms and legs and feet, all these things you have to put together in my brain all at once, but it is an amazing experience.’

Zara made history by becoming the first former Love Island contestant to win a place on Strictly – but insisted she won’t be drawing inspiration from any of her former cast mates when the show gets underway.

The TV personality found fame after featuring on the ITV2 dating show in 2018, during which her romance with villa lothario Adam Collard became one of its more dominant narrative lines.

She’s since reestablished herself as a BBC documentarian, with hard-hitting expose’s on revenge porn, rape culture and eating disorders winning her a new army of fans – and a nomination for Authored Documentary at the National Television Awards.