Curtis Pritchard appears in great spirits as he enjoys a fun night out with brother AJ and pals

His ex girlfriend Maura Higgins branded him the ‘villa villain’ after he was recently spotted kissing the girl he was accused of cheating on her with.

But Curtis Pritchard appeared to put the drama behind him as he joined brother AJ and a plethora of pals on a fun night out on Thursday.

The Love Island star, 24, hugged a female friend and laughed with the group after they had enjoyed a meal at Honest Burger.

Dressed in a pale blue shirt and black trousers, Curtis appeared in good spirits as he mingled with the group ahead of them parting ways for the night. 

At one point the dancer took centre stage as he stood up on a concrete bench to chat to his companions, who included AJ’s girlfriend Abbie Quinnen.

As they made to say goodbye, former Strictly star AJ, 25, attempted to adhere to social distancing rules as by touching elbows to say farewell. 

However, Curtis didn’t follow in his brother’s footsteps as he hugged and shook friends with friends amid the gathering. 

His fun night out comes after his ex Maura, 29, branded him the ‘villa villain’ after learning of the dancer’s new romance with Amber Pierson.

Taking to Twitter, the former grid girl ‘liked’ a post comparing the exes; with Maura labelled ‘the perceived villa villain’ and Curtis labelled the ‘ACTUAL villa villain.’ 

MailOnline has contacted Curtis Pritchard’s representatives for comment. 

The not-so-subtle swipe comes after it was reported that Maura is so furious about Curtis’s new romance with Amber, 21, that she’s said to be ‘on the warpath to make his life hell’.

The professional dancer was pictured putting on a cosy display with dancer Amber, with a source close to Maura, saying the pair’s outing was ‘a kick in the teeth’.

And while Curtis has denied accusations he cheated on Maura with Amber, a source told The Mirror: ‘Maura is on the warpath and has been telling everyone she is going to make Curtis’ life hell.’ 

Continued the source: ‘Maura has been with all the Love Island contestants and has been in touch with everyone this weekend seeing what we all think and telling us she’s going to make his life hell. 

‘She seems to not be able to move on and has been talking about Curtis for months and obsessing over who he is with and if he cheated on her.’

The report came after friends of the former couple insisted that Curtis did not cheat on Maura with Amber, who he was recently spotted sharing a kiss with. 

A friend close to Curtis and Maura told MailOnline the cheating claims are a ‘smear campaign’ by Maura to serve as a ‘diversion’ from rumours that circulated about her relationship with her Dancing On Ice partner Alexander Demetriou. 

The insider said: ‘The claims earlier this year that Curtis was with Amber whilst still with Maura were simply a tactical diversion by her to take the heat off the rumours circulating about the close relationship she had with her dance partner Alex’.

Alexander and his wife Carlotta Edwards split earlier this year, with Alex admitting she grew ‘jealous’ of his close bond with Maura, saying he ‘didn’t want to lead her on’ anymore. 

A friend of Curtis and Maura insisted that there was ‘no overlap’ between him seeing Amber and the reports that Maura and Alex had grown close during their time on the show. 

Meanwhile, it’s claimed that Maura’s Love Island co-stars Molly-Mae Hague and Christopher Taylor, as well as Maura’s mother Sharon Higgins, have unfollowed Curtis on Twitter after his kiss emerged, according to The Sun.

Only Anna Vakili and Lucie Donlan follow the dancer on Twitter along with Molly-Mae’s boyfriend Tommy Fury – the only one out of Curtis’ seven other Love Island finalists. 

Curtis and Maura’s relationship was rumoured to be on the rocks in March after speculation surfaced that he was getting overly friendly with the blonde beauty. 

Maura had reportedly confronted him after she noticed him getting too close for comfort with his dancer ‘friend.’

The red flags went up for Maura when she was alerted to an anonymous tweet, saying that Curtis was spotted ‘hugging and kissing’ the blonde.

Following the speculation, Amber dismissed claims she’d had a fling with Curtis behind Maura’s back calling them ‘complete lies,’ but branded the Love Island hunk ‘a lovely and talented guy’.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: ‘I didn’t want to speak out about this, but I feel I have to as I have been receiving a few abusive messages recently regarding what’s been in the papers.

‘To be very clear, Curtis and I have never been together. We are simply friends and dancer partners! There are 13 dancers going on tour, and I am one of them. The ‘cheating’ allegations this week are out of the blue and complete lies.

‘I wanted no part in this but what I will say is Curtis is genuinely a lovely and talented guy, who doesn’t deserve any of this. Hope that’s set the record straight and we can move on. Amber x.’