Mollie, 30, and her professional partner AJ, 23, were recently caught "canoodling" backstage after weeks of speculation about their relationship, reports claimed.

The pair endured a rollercoaster ride of emotions during last night's semi-final, coming under fire from the judges for their lacklustre Samba before achieving their highest score to date for their romantic Waltz.

However, it was BBC presenter Tess Daly's performance which enraged Strictly Come Dancing fans, after she made repeated comments about Mollie and AJ as a couple.

Claudia Winkleman, 45, set the ball rolling during a link, saying: "Well, I think we're all agreed, it's time to talk abut the elephant in the room."

"What? You mean, are AJ and Mollie a couple or not?" her co-host, 48, quipped.

Elsewhere on the show, she commentated on their behaviour as they finished their Samba routine, saying: "Having a little chat.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you looked so happy when you were dancing," she added.

As the Strictly stars shared an intimate embrace at the end of their Waltz, she could also be heard hinting heavily: "Such a lovely connection between these two."

Viewers took to Twitter to complain about the host, with one saying: "Well that's awkward Tess."

"Can they stop mentioning Mollie and AJ's 'romance' please real or not it's weird to keep bringing it up," another blasted. "It's like they're trying to plug it for votes."

"Tess (or at least, her script) is really pushing the Mollie / AJ ship hard, isn't she," a third fan added, while a fourth complained: "The wee jibes that Mollie and AJ are getting are all a bit childish. And embarrassing for them.

"Cut it out please."

Mollie and AJ found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard at the end of the night after scoring a total of 56 points for their two dances, compared to Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez who topped the list with 79.

Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One.