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"Rizzoli &amp;amp; Isles co-creator Janet Tamaro has dismissed speculation concerning the nature of the central duo&amp;#039;s relationship. The showrunner told the Los Angeles Times that there is no romantic element to the friendship between Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and Isles (Sasha Alexander). &amp;quot;[We have] two gorgeous actresses together who have great, natural chemistry,&amp;quot; she argued. &amp;quot;[But they] are straight women who don&amp;#039;t fear the interest in or the speculation about their relationship.&amp;quot; Alexander agreed that the crime-fighting pair are simply &amp;quot;friends and colleagues&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;Women in the workplace are often portrayed as catty and competitive,&amp;quot; she suggested. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s rare that you get to see them as smart friends and colleagues who can debate and disagree. They don&amp;#039;t have to always sabotage each other and fall for the same guy.&amp;quot; Co-star Harmon added: &amp;quot;I hate to disappoint, but these characters are straight. If we lose viewers because of it, [then we&amp;#039;re] sorry!&amp;quot; Chris Vance, Colin Egglesfield, Jacqueline Bisset, Ed Begley Jr and Bill O&amp;#039;Reilly have already signed up for roles in the second season of Rizzoli &amp;amp; Isles. The show returns to TNT on Monday, July 11 at 10/9c. Watch a clip from the first season of Rizzoi &amp;amp; Isles below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/news/a328165/rizzoli-isles-stars-dismiss-lesbian-speculation/>