Tilly Ramsay gets close to Strictly Coming Dancing partner Nikita Kuzmin after dancer was spotted leaving her flat

TILLY Ramsay has been spotted getting close to her Strictly Come Dancing professional partner Nikita Kuzmin.

The dancer put a protective arm around his partner to shield her from the waiting cameras as they left after filming Strictly spin off It Takes Two.

Tilly, 19, and Nikita, 23, appeared cosy as they left the TV studio before being ushered into their cars and heading home for the night.

But not before the professional dancer placed an arm around the social media star and helped her down the steps to her cab.

Nikita held out a gentlemanly hand for Tilly and gently led her, placing his arm on her shoulder and then briefly linking with hers.

Tilly appeared to look towards Nikita for encouragement on numerous occasions as her face was shielded from view by her long blonde locks.

Dressed in all black, the pair – who have been tipped by fans as love interests – had been filming for It Takes Two together for three hours.

Nikita and Tilly had arrived at the studios together after a long day of rehearsals, but were ushered into and left in separate vehicles.

It comes days after Tilly and her pro partner enjoyed a cosy night in after they were spotted together at a London apartment.

Nikita and TikTok star Tilly left Strictly Come Dancing’s West End studios separately on Thursday afternoon.

But they ended up at the same apartment destination, where Tilly was seen opening the door ahead of Nikita, who dashed inside after her.

The pair’s rendezvous on Thursday followed a “doe-eyed” TV appearance that morning — with viewers claiming Tilly clearly had a crush on Nikita.

Tilly, the daughter of chef Gordon, and pro star Nikita, then trained all day at a West London studio. They arrived in separate cars outside an apartment block a mile from Tilly’s £5million South London family home.

They looked around for each other, then Tilly — whose name is short for Matilda — linked up with the dancer and they headed inside under cover of darkness.

A witness said: “Nikita was first and waited outside before Tilly arrived a few minutes later. They were grinning from ear-to-ear, chatting and laughing.

“They looked very comfortable in each other’s company, quite flirty. There is a clear physical chemistry. After strolling to the door they headed inside and stayed all evening.”

Next day, Friday, the pair — partnered up for the show two weeks ago — rehearsed their waltz at BBC studios in Hertfordshire.

Before they danced live, a video was shown of Tilly and Ukrainian Nikita cooking in a kitchen.

Also on Friday, Nikita posted an Instagram clip of him topless for a spray tan. His dancer girlfriend Nicole Wirt lives in Germany.

A show insider said last night: “It’s no secret that Tilly and Nikita have hit it off really well. A lot of the older cast and crew think they’re really cute.

They bring a youthful, fun energy to the set.

“Tilly is really close to her family and Nikita has met them, as well as throwing himself into TikTok dances which Tilly loves.

“They want to stay in the competition as long as possible so it’s important that they get on and have a close relationship.”

Fans on social media speculated over a romance after they guested on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday.

One wrote: “Tilly has a bit of a crush on Nikita. You can tell by the way she looks at him. Doe-eyed lol.”

Another added: “I think Nikita and Tilly are in love.”

GORDON’S NOT A FAN?

Last weekend’s pre-recorded Strictly showed a clip of Nikita baring his chest when Tilly introduced him to her family on a video call.

Her dad Gordon ordered: “Nikita, can you do me a favour? Can you do your shirt up?”

Tilly was rumoured to be dating Gino D’Acampo’s son Luciano in late 2019 — after their dads bonded filming ITV’s Men Behaving Badly.

She is Strictly’s first student contestant and starts a psychology degree at a northern university tomorrow.

She previously ruled out a show romance, claiming: “It’s not Love Island! I’m single and here to focus on dancing.

“Doing Strictly is the most exciting chapter of my life. I’m so grateful for this huge opportunity and Nikita’s been the best of the best as a teacher. He’s strict but we can have a laugh and have fun.”

Discussing her studies, she said: “I will stay in London to avoid the Covid risk of travel and to train in between lectures. A lot are online.”

Tilly and her dad often share videos and recently participated in a This or That Challenge which revealed she prefers mum Tana’s cooking. The film has had over 39 million views.