It’s been the worst-kept secret in Hollywood, but Freida Pinto has finally admitted her love for her Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel.

Rumours of a romance surfaced around the time of the Oscars, but it wasn’t until the pair were spotted smooching in Israel that the gossip was comfirmed.

Now Frieda herself has opened up about their burgeoning relationship, describing 19-year-old Dev as ‘a lovely boy’.

She added: ‘The friendship blossomed after the film, it got even stronger. This is all new to us.’

An onlooker who saw the couple cosying up at a café in Israel in April said: ‘They looked very happy together and they didn’t seem to care who saw them.

‘Dev couldn’t take his eyes off her – and she kept snuggling up to get closer to him.’