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Valentine's Day: 7 Kent celebrity couples

Love is in the air. So, what better way to mark the annual celebration of romance than by reading about Kent celebrities' fairytale relationships?

From James and Ola to Vic and Bob all areas of showbiz are represented in this list of Garden of England sweethearts.

Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry

He's a Hollywood super star these days, whose most famous roles include playing an elf in Lord of the Rings and a pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean but his origins are 5,500 miles away in Canterbury.

The 43-year-old went to St Peter's Methodist Primary School, King's School juniors and St Edmund's School in the city before embarking on an acting career.

Now the father-of-one is engaged to pop star Katy Perry.

The pair were papped in 2016 on a paddle board which Bloom was piloting while naked.

Vic and Bob Picture: Sophie Mutevelian
Vic and Bob Picture: Sophie Mutevelian

Vic and Bob

Sure, they're not romantically involved but Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer share quite the bond.

The northern comedy duo famed for Shooting Stars and Big Night Out are known to travel to each other's homes to write material.

For those interested 61-year-old father-of-four Vic, real name James Moir, is married to model Nancy Sorrell, 45, and resides in Charing, near Ashford.

Meanwhile 60-year-old father-of-two Bob, a former Middlesbrough FC trialist and solicitor, lives in Tunbridge Wells with wife Lisa Matthews.

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Sheridan Smith and Jamie Horn

Actress Sheridan Smith is approaching national treasure levels and is another northerner to make the county her home.

She's starred in comedy smash hits The Royle Family, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, and Gavin & Stacey, as well as West End shows and recently embarked on a successful musical career.

But the multi-award-winning 38-year-old prefers the quiet life to the bright lights telling the Daily Mirror last year she now lives in rural Kent with fiancé Jamie Horn, 28, and 12 dogs, a couple of horses, four donkeys, two pot-bellied pigs, and a pair of goats.

Last year she revealed they were expecting a baby boy.

Ola and James Jordan Picture: Steve Crispe
Ola and James Jordan Picture: Steve Crispe

James and Ola Jordan

Dancers James, 41, and Ola Jordan, 37, tied the knot in 2003 and have lived around Maidstone and East Malling ever since.

James, from Gillingham, and Ola, originally from Poland, have both starred on the BBC's hit celeb talent show Strictly Come Dancing.

Ola last appeared on the show in 2015, while James bowed out in 2013 after ill-fated tango with Vanessa Feltz.

The couple were back on screens last year, appearing on Channel 4's Celebrity Coach Trip.

Pete Doherty and Carl Barât

Pete Doherty is enjoying a relatively relaxed existence in Margate these days.

Sure, he sometimes is caught speeding, smashes the odd mega breakfast and got hospitalised by a hedgehog but other than that he's left his Indie rock bad boy days behind him.

The 40-year-old is now in a new band, the fruitily named Peter Doherty and the Puta Madres, but it's his on-off relationship with fellow former Libertines front man Carl Barât that wins him a place on this list.

Their tempestuous romance came to a head in the 2004 hit Can't Stand Me Now, the lyrics to which feature: "An ending fitting for the start, you twist and tore our love apart," before embarking on a chorus of "You can't stand me, no, you can't stand me now."

But like every good love story the pair are now running their own seaside guest house - The Albion Rooms hotel, a bar and recording studio opened last summer.

Bob Geldof and Jeanne Marine at Davington Priory Fete Picture: Barry Duffield
Bob Geldof and Jeanne Marine at Davington Priory Fete Picture: Barry Duffield

Bob Geldof and Jeanne Marine

Kent's links to rock royalty run deeper than Mr Doherty.

Boomtown Rats leader singer Bob Geldof has called the county home for decades.

He is perhaps best known for masterminding the charity Live Aid concert alongside Midge Ure and is a keen political activist, famously battling Nigel Farage's Brexit Barge on the Thames in 2016.

The Irish 68-year-old lives in 12th century Benedictine nunnery Davington Priory, in Faversham, with wife 54-year-old actress Jeanne Marine.

He's often seen walking around the market town and dining in local pubs.

Damien and Victoria Aspinall

You know the saying. Couples who hand-raise cheetahs together, stay together.

The glamorous Aspinalls head up The Aspinall Foundation which runs Howletts zoo, near Canterbury, and Port Lympne wild animal park, near Ashford.

Father-of-three Mr Aspinall, 59, married Burberry business strategy consultant Victoria, 32, in 2016.

They recently released their two big cats in South Africa, where they will learn how to hunt before being released into the wild.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent

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