Tom Daley shares first images of himself with rumoured boyfriend Dustin Lance Black

Photos posted to pair’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts appear to be first confirmation couple are dating

Tom Daley has shared images of himself with the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black for the first time, in an apparent public confirmation that the pair are dating.

It has been heavily rumoured that the British Olympic diving champion is in a relationship with the 39-year-old screenwriter, though neither has previously confirmed or denied it.

Last night saw the first episode of the second series of Daley’s celebrity diving TV show Splash broadcast on ITV, and afterwards the 19-year-old posted a message to Twitter linking to an image of the couple in a restaurant.

He wrote: “#splash celebrations :) Beef Wellington...yes please!!”

Black responded by posting an image of a cake iced with the words “I heart Tom”, adding a message: “I concur. tomdaley1994 fans are the SWEETEST #forgetthediet.”

More than 70,000 people have since liked the image of the couple together, and the comments section was flooded with messages of support.

Black was also spotted in the front row of the audience watching Splash live, and the pair have been pictured together in the US and tweeted their matching Christmas presents.

Last month Daley broke his silence about the alleged relationship during an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show.

He said: “I’d never felt like anything like it before. We were at a party and I hadn’t even spoken to him all night. I didn’t know what to do or if he was gay at first.

Dustin Lance Black posted this image to Instagram, saying: 'I concur'

“I typed ‘call me’ in his notes with a smiley face on this phone and the next day he texted. He makes me feel safe and happy, right now I couldn’t be happier.”

“I’d never felt the feeling of love, it happened so quickly, I was completely overwhelmed by it to the point I can’t get him out of my head all the time,” he continued. “I’ve never had it before where I love someone and they love me just as much.”

Daley first came out with a video posted to his YouTube channel at the start of that month, in which he said his life had changed massively since the relationship began earlier in 2013.