‘I dated my boyfriend on FaceTime before we met – I worried he might smell bad!'

Former Strictly star Saffron Barker on meeting her new man, why she takes daily dips in the sea and the ups and downs of sharing her life on YouTube

- JOEL COOPER

While most of us know her from last year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, where she came sixth alongside partner AJ Pritchard, Saffron Barker is actually one of the country’s most beloved and prolific YouTubers, with a legion of fans online.

The chatty star, 20, has put her entire life on the social media platform since she was just 15, with seemingly nothing off limits. And one particularly important update that her viewers will be keen to hear more about is that of her love life – and we’re delighted to reveal it’s going extremely well!

Saff got together with new man Tyler Dixon during lockdown, and the smitten pair enjoyed a string of virtual dates. They then finally met up in person, in her hometown of Brighton, for a socially distanced rendezvous. Saffron and Tyler, 22, ended up getting on like a house on fire and have gone from strength to strength, even enjoying a romantic getaway together in Santorini.

When we chat to the influencer, who is partnering with make-up brand Iconic London, she’s chilling at her family home, taking a rare break from “producing and uploading content”, as the kids like to say.

“I’ve been in London for the past couple of days, shooting some content. I’ve literally just got back,” she tells us. “For the rest of the day I’m probably going to get in a workout and get more content done.”

Here, Saffron talks about finding love, reveals the dark side to sharing her life with the world and tells us which Strictly star she’s rooting for this year…

Hi Saffron! How are things with your new man, Tyler?