Ricky Hatton and Claire Sweeney hailed "match made in heaven" as they go public at Co-op Live launch

Their whirlwind romance has captured public imagination - and now boxer Ricky "Hitman" Hatton and Corrie star Claire Sweeney have stepped out on the red carpet together for the first time.

Ricky and Claire met filming Dancing on Ice last year and have been spotted on a series of pub dates in recent weeks. On Saturday night they took the next step, going public with their romance at the big opening night of the £365m Co-op Live Arena.

They both posted photos on their Instagram accounts after posing together at the press boards for celebs and VIPs at the new arena. The welcome event saw Rick Astley headline, ahead of the full opening show with Peter Kay on Tuesday, April 23.

READ MORE: First look inside the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester

And fans were quick to admire what a "gorgeous" and "beautiful" couple they look.

Hyde Hitman Ricky posted pics from the arena and said in his post: "Great night with claire @claire.sweeney tonight at the pre opening of the fantastic new @thecooplive in manchester. @officialrickastley was awesome the legend. Brill night all round."

Followers and friends were quick to send their support for the couple. Nick Heath wrote: "You and Claire look good together Ricky, you seem to suit eachother... good to see lad, good to see".

Melanie Groves said: "Gorgeous couple" and Paulalb agreed: "Beautiful couple". Michelle Clarke said: "You look a great couple. You both look absolutely amazing."

Former Brookside star Claire posted her own photos from the event. She wore a glamorous white one shoulder pantsuit while Ricky sported a smart velvet blazer teamed with jeans.

She said: "Great night watching Rick Astley at new Co-op Live Arena with Ricky Hatton".

Seren Williams responded saying: "Such a match made in heaven so well suited." While another of her followers bigbrandsdirect posted: "You look so happy @claire.sweeney with @rickyhitmanhatton match made in heaven, he seems like a proper down to earth geezer excited & happy for you doll"

Ricky and Claire were among a host of famous faces who were invited to the "test event" at Co-op Live, which saw homegrown talent The KTNA kick off the entertainment, before a surprise appearance from McFly's Danny Jones and then Rick Astley headlining the evening.

Former Corrie stars Georgia May Foote and Rebecca Ryan were pictured at the show, alongside Hollyoaks legends Nicole Barber-Lane and Ashley Taylor-Dawson and EastEnders star Jaz Singh.

The event was not without its drama on Saturday night though, after thousands of ticketholders were emailed just an hour before the event opened to say their tickets were being cancelled due to "testing procedures".

People uninvited from the Saturday event were instead invited to next Saturday's rock concert with Black Keys. Co-op Live apologised for the fiasco, but said safety had to come first.

A Co-op Live spokesperson said: "We’re busy putting the finishing touches on Co-op Live, and we are looking forward to Co-op Live becoming the pre-eminent arena in the UK upon opening.

"As a part of the opening process, we are in the midst of an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures. To enable us to test the spaces effectively, we have made the difficult decision to reduce overall capacity for today’s test event.

"We apologise to affected guests and look forward to welcoming them to The Black Keys."