Paddy McGuinness revealed his surprising celebrity crush when appearing alongside Vernon Kay on Gogglebox – but Vernon’s confession led to him having a change of heart

Paddy McGuinness told Vernon Kay his celebrity crush(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Just Eat)

Paddy McGuinness has revealed his unexpected celebrity crush. The funnyman and former Top Gear host, 51, made the shock confession during an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox.

Paddy was appearing on the popular Channel 4 reality TV show alongside pal Vernon Kay. The pair were watching an episode of Celebrity Bridge when Countdown star Rachel Riley appeared on the screen.

It was then that Paddy confessed to the maths whizz being the crush “he wasn’t supposed to have”. He blurted out: “There’s something about Rachel Riley. I don’t know what it is. You know when you have like a celebrity crush that you’re not supposed to have.”

Paddy admitted he had a crush on Rachel Riley(Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty I)

And Vernon pointed out one detail that he thought would turn Paddy off the blonde haired star. “She’s a United fan,” the radio host told his mate.

“Oh I’ve gone right off her!” a shocked Paddy responded. His confession came as it was claimed his ex-wife Christine McGuinness had exchanged flirty texts with Dan Osborne.

The conversations weren’t said to be romantic, but it was reported the duo comforted each other as they dealt with their marriage troubles.

Christine and Paddy split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage. They continued to live together to co-parent their three children.

Dan, meanwhile, recently went on a make-or-break holiday with wife Jacqueline Jossa. The couple who tied the knot in 2017 announced they were splitting in March after months of speculation. Despite their joint statement they appeared to be willing to give things another go.

Christine and Paddy were married for 11 years(Image: Getty Images)

It’s thought Christine and Dan’s exchange came as they found solace in each other’s situation and formed a stronger bond. They had first met in 2019 and are said to have sporadically stayed in touch in the years that followed.

A source told the Sun earlier this week: “They stayed in touch sporadically and would bump into each other at events and their messages got pretty flirty. Some were seen by mutual friends.

“She would call him ‘D’ in texts and it became an open secret among their circles. There is no suggestion anything sexual happened, but it’s fair to say there was a spark between them.”

The insider insisted: “She is absolutely adamant nothing sexual happened between them. She also was 100 per cent single at the time and could chat to anyone she wanted.”

Former TOWIE star Dan, 33, was also adamant there was no romantic connection between the pair. A pal of the reality star told the publication: “Dan is devoted to Jacqueline and would hate for any suggestion of impropriety. Of course, it’s possible for a man and woman to be mates.”