Mollie King's Strictly Come Dancing future is in jeopardy after her partner was struck down with a bug.
AJ Pritchard has been forced to pull out of rehearsals ahead of Saturday night's Halloween special after being left bedridden, leaving King “stressed”.
“AJ has been struck down with a bug,” a source told The Sun.
“He really needs to lie down for the majority of the day as is temperature is up and down.
“He’s popping in every now and then to training to advise on the choreography, but he doesn’t want to give Mollie his illness.”
King is currently working on her cha-cha with back-up dancer Patrick.
King sent a get well message to Pritchard on Instagram during rehearsals on Wednesday, and told fans that she is feeling the pressure.
She said: “So it's day two of the cha-cha and AJ did try to come into rehearsals but he had to be sent home.
“So in two days, I've danced the cha-cha with three different boys so stressed would be an understatement.”
King and Pritchard are rumoured to have struck up a romance during their time on the show with Pritchard's father telling the Daily Mirror that “they are spending more time with each other than a married couple would do”.
He said: “AJ and Mollie are having a lot of fun. They’ve really bonded.
“People have their opinions about whether they are now an item – you will have to ask AJ about that. But I think she’s great.
“I have met Mollie after every show. She is very nice, very easy to talk to.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2017 - In pictures
Standard Online has contacted the BBC for comment.
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One Saturday at 6:35pm
