'Strictly' semi-final: Chris Ramsey refuses to dance a 'sexy' Rumba with Karen Hauer

She may be a dream dance partner for many Strictly Come Dancing fans, but Chris Ramsey has made sure to stay well away from any Strictly Curse rumours by refusing to perform a “sexy” Rumba with Karen Hauer.

Comedian Ramsey and his pro dance partner Hauer have managed to find the laughs in most routines of the BBC series, but despite judges saying he would need to take on a more serious persona for his semi-final Rumba, he flat out refused to go for the normally steamy atmosphere expected of the dance.

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Married Ramsey, who has a young son with his wife Rosie, warned viewers before his second dance of the episode that the routine would be “friendly rather than grr” and was later shown in training telling Hauer that there was no way he would go down the raunchy route.

He said to her: “I don’t want to do a sexy Rumba with you, I’m just putting it out there. I want to do a friendly Rumba.”

It may have been a risky decision for scores, but it certainly paid off with wife Rosie who loved the dance.

Many couples paired on the show have ended up in relationships or been alleged to be having affairs after spending many hours training in close routines, known as the Strictly curse.

One of the most recent couples to have met on the show are the current reigning champions Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton - who Hauer split from before the 2018 series began.

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Despite the lack of sexual tension and criticisms from the judges, Ramsey admitted to finding the dance emotional, wiping away tears as he joked: “I actually cried in the end there. I was thinking about that mistake in the Viennese.”

Although the pair were at the bottom of the leaderboard, they were delighted with their scores and especially with an uncharacteristically nice comment from grumpy judge Craig Revel Horwood after their first dance, a Viennese Waltz.

Revel Horwood told him: “I’m extremely proud of you because you literally came from nothing and now you’re presenting as a dancer, and I think that is truly remarkable.”

A gobsmacked Ramsey told host Claudia Winkleman: “So nice, I never thought I’d get that from Craig. I genuinely thought he hated me.”

However, normal order was restored when Revel Horwood scored him just four points for his Rumba, despite the other judges giving him eights.

Strictly Come Dancing returns on Sunday for the results show at 7.20pm on BBC One.