Pete Wicks and Jowita Pryzstal looked cosy as they enjoyed a day meeting a group of puppies at the Dogs Trust in Basildon last week in snaps shared to Instagram.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 36, took his professional dance partner, 30, to meet a group of rescue pups in what she described as a ‘beautiful morning’.

Jowita and Pete cuddled up with several of the dogs from the rescue centre as they posed for photos with the adorable furry animals.

Alongside the images, Jowita wrote: ‘Last week i has pleasure to visit Dogs Trust Basildon.

‘Thank you team for a warm welcome and thank you Pete Wicks for taking me there, one of the most beautiful mornings x

‘What you’re doing for those little ones is absolutely remarkable. You’re my heroes x. Like Pete says everyone deserves a second chance.’

Pete Wicks and Jowita Pryzstal looked cosy as they enjoyed a day meeting a group of puppies Dogs Trust Basildon last week in snaps shared to Instagram

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 36, took his professional dance partner, 30, to meet a group of rescue pups in what she described as a ‘beautiful morning’

The friendly disploay comes days after the dancing partners were seen looking tense as they left a grueling day of rehearsals in London on Monday.

The former TOWIE star, 36, has sent tongues wagging over his love life in recent weeks and has been linked both Jowita and Maura Higgins, 34.

Over the weekend, Pete wrote a smitten comment under Maura‘s Instagram post as she made her I’m A Celebrity arrival, sparking further speculation the two are dating.

Pete and Jowita are training for Musicals Week and appeared to be feeling the pressure after sailing through to the next round.

The reality star, who was dressed in an all black ensemble, leather jacket and carried a Louis Vuitton holdall, walked ahead of Jowita with a cigarette in hand.

Jowita, meanwhile, gazed down at her phone and walked a few steps behind.

 Jamie Borthwick’s departure sparked backlash from viewers, with Pete and Jowita looking visibly shocked on Sunday’s show when Tess Daly announced they were through and not in the dance off.

Their closeness was also noticed by fans, with Jowita clinging onto Pete’s arm after they were saved by the public.

Jowita and Pete cuddled up with several of the dogs from the rescue centre as they posed for photos with the adorable furry animals

Over the weekend, Pete wrote a smitten comment under Maura Higgins’ Instagram post as she made her I’m A Celebrity arrival, sparking further speculation the two are dating

However, Pete chose not to hold back after watching a clip of her doing an eating challenge in the latest Bushtucker Trial, as he took to the comments to write: ‘WHAT A WOMAN’

But then Pete commented on Maura’s post  of her eating trial: ‘What a woman’.

The clip was posted to Instagram by Maura’s friends and family, who are running her account while she’s Down Under.

Hilariously, they edited in the viral video of Maura in Love Island, where she overhears Tom Walker, who she was coupled up with at the time on the show, making a suggestive comment before they went into the hideaway.

The funny clip saw Tom quip: ‘It will be interesting to see whether she’s all mouth or not,’ followed by Maura getting stuck into the eating challenge and joking: ‘I don’t think I can swallow it. First time I’ve said that.’

Maura insisted she was still single as she prepared to make her I’m A Celebrity debut after they were pictured kissing on several occasions.

When asked if she is in a relationship with Pete, Maura said: ‘I’m not. I’ve been on dates with many people. I mean, I date, but I’m very much single. Everyone goes on dates.’

Their closeness was also noticed by fans, with Jowita clinging onto Pete’s arm after they were saved by the public

She added: ‘It is quite scary going in later. They have all met and got to know each other.

‘It’s never easy being the newbie, but I am not a shy person, so I feel like I will be fine. It will be nice to bring some energy to the camp.

‘I am single at the moment, but honestly no-one is going to fancy me in the jungle. Trust me!’

Jowita and Maura have been competing on Strictly together since September, and in recent weeks, sources have claimed they have been secretly seeing each other away from the show and have been spotted looking cosy on car rides together.

‘The chemistry between them has been pretty clear since the moment they met but the last few weeks something has changed and they’ve started seeing each other away from the show,’ a source told The Sun.

‘They’ve tried to keep it low-key but they often travel together rather than getting separate cars to different locations.

‘And they’re so tactile backstage it has become pretty obvious something is going on. Everyone is talking about the fact they seem closer than ever.’