Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton’s eight-month romance with Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney captured headlines across the country after the Manchester and Liverpool-born stars seemingly fell in love across an ice rink.

The world boxing champion, who has tragically died, aged 46, on Sunday (September 14), was taking part in Dancing on Ice at the beginning of last year when he was re-equainted with the actress, who is currently best known for playing Cassie Plummer in ITV’s Corrie.

Despite knowing each other for years, it wasn’t until after taking part in the now-cancelled ITV competition show that the pair first got tongues wagging about a relationship after being spotted on a series of pub dates, including in Stockport.

They then stepped out on the red carpet together for the first time in May 2024 at the first opening night of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

They both posted photos on their Instagram accounts after posing together at the press boards for celebs and VIPs at the new arena’s welcome event.

It wasn’t long after that when the new couple were then seen enjoying a sun-soaked holiday in Tenerife and recently headed back abroad and enjoyed a long weekend in Mallorca with his family.

They went public with their romance at the first opening night of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester(Image: Getty Images for Co-op Live)

Ricky confirmed in July that same year that he and Claire have neem dating for five months and during an interview with Prime Casino, Ricky revealed that he didn’t go on the ITV show to find a romance, but did go in with the hope of not sustaining any injuries.

Speaking about the relationship, the Hattersley-born star said: “I’ve known Claire for a while. I’ve met her at a few functions and at different events over the years.

“Every time we’ve spoken we’ve hit it off and got on with each other.” He went on to say that during ice skating training they got on “straight away” and when the show kicked off “got on even better.”

Ricky said he had “half a chance” at wooing Claire because of how well they got on every time they saw each other. He confessed that he knew she was single and added: “I knew how we had got on so well every time we met each other. I probably thought I had half a chance.

“It’s amazing [to find] someone you’ve probably known for 25 years. I’ve been in relationships and she’s been in relationships. I’ve had my kids and she’s had her kids. And then 25 years later we found each other. It’s quite a nice story.”

He also joked to the Mirror after his short-lived stint on Dancing on Ice: “I got knocked out in the first round, but I was able to able to meet Claire. I was always a Billy no mates at these things before Claire.”

They enjoyed many sun-soaked trips during their relationship(Image: Ricky Hatton (Instagram))

He then said of their relationship: “No, it’s great! Me and Claire have been together about five months now,” before adding: “Long may it continue!”

It came after Claire had told ITV’s Lorraine: “I’ve known Ricky for, like, 25 years. We always passed each other at events.” She continued at the time: “We did a TV show together. First of all I met him in the early 2000s, then we did Dance for Comic Relief together in 2013. Then met on Dancing on Ice and it’s great…”

The former Brookside star then shared: “He makes me laugh, and we both like Only Fools and Horses, so what’s not to like?”

But it was in December that it was reported Ricky and Claire had split. The breakup came before Christmas and asked about the split during a red carpet appearance, Claire told MailOnline: “I’m great – we’re still friends, we were friends, we dated and now we’re friends again. It’s all good!”

The former couple continued to publicly show support for one another. Before Ricky’s tragic death, it was announced that he was set to face UAE fighter Eisa Al Dah at middleweight on December 2 in Dubai.

The Stockport-born fighter was supposed to fly out to a press conference to announce the bout, but had to remain at home after sustaining an eye injury during an Oasis reunion concert in Cardiff.

While he didn’t attend in person, he appeared via a video call, where he said: “I’m very much looking forward to it myself, to be honest with you. What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”

At the time, in a show of support, his former partner Claire took to Instagram to share a video of the announcement, writing alongside it: “This is brilliant.”