Caroline Flack has laughed off claims that she’s fallen out with her former co-presenter on ‘The X Factor’ Olly Murs after they were both dropped from the programme earlier this year.

Olly and Caroline have been close friends since they both started presenting ‘Xtra Factor’ together in 2011, and their on-screen flirting helped them land the main hosting gig on the ITV show last year when long-time presenter Dermot O’Leary. Many speculated that the pair were secretly in love, such was their on-screen chemistry.

Caroline Flack Olly MursCaroline Flack and Olly Murs

However, a source had told The Sun on Wednesday that an irreparable rift had surfaced between the two when Murs, 31, apparently found out that they would be axed before she did but didn’t tell her. “Caroline felt really disappointed that Olly knew they wouldn’t be returning before she did,” the insider said. “She thought he’d at least have had the courtesy to tell her.”

“In her eyes, the reason he got the gig in the first place was because she’d basically carried him during their stint on spin-off show ‘Xtra Factor’… …and his infamous mistake on the live results show last year can’t have helped either, she feels. Of course, Olly has his hugely successful pop career and didn’t really need ‘The X Factor’, but that was Caroline’s dream job.”

More: Dermot O’Leary returns “home” to ‘The X Factor’

That ‘mistake’ refers to the notorious incident in which he revealed on-air that contestant Monica Michael was eliminated from the show before the official results were announced.

However, the forthright 36 year old took to Twitter later that day to deny any fall-out, and insisted that she and Olly were still great friends. “Who makes up this stuff!!!! I must be talking to an imaginary Olly then [sic]… I hate being made to make a comment on these things but I feel forced.”

“I'm not bitter about X factor… I have not fallen out with Olly, I wanted to leave, I had the best time… I'm happy. Rested. Feel blessed and am looking forward to the rest of the year… Everything evolves and changes. Time to move on xx.”

Murs is returning to his musical career, and is currently in the process of writing new music, while Flack will be presenting ‘Love Island’ later this year.

More: Olly Murs and Caroline Flack confirm ‘X Factor’ departure