FORMER Strictly star Ian Waite has admitted the Strictly curse is a direct result of dancers "touching bodies" on the show.

The dance pro - who took part in seven seasons of the BBC favourite - revealed celebrities often fall harder than the professionals because they're not used to being so intimate with strangers.

Asked if he thinks the curse is real, he told the East Anglian Daily Times: "I think what is difficult is the celebs aren’t used to someone dancing so closely to them and touching each others bodies in a way you may not even touch your partner for 10 to 12 hours every day.

"It is very unusual but people do fall for each other, for the professionals point of view we are used to it as dancing intimately is part of our job."

But the dancer stands by the belief that people who are in strong relationships aren't at risk.

He added: "It depends where your head is at - if someone wants to cheat whether with a dancer or someone else depends on if you love your partner and relationship."

In October, former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips echoed the same sentiment admitting the curse was very real for couples who weren't in strong relationships.

Speaking shortly after professional dancer Katya Jones was pictured kissing her celeb partner Seann Walsh, she dished: "Rehearsals are very intense.

"Couples spend long days in the studio and then have perhaps a 14-hour day on a Saturday before the live show. Going for a drink is often the way to defuse before it all starts again the following day."

She added to the Daily Mail: "You are so physical in the dancing that it is easy at the end of a long day to just be with that other person."

The show has seen a number of romances flourish on the dance floor over the years.

Kristina Rhianoff and Ben Cohen, Gorka Marquez and Gemma Atkinson and Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev are just some of the relationships that are still going strong.