Strictly Come Dancing pro Vito Coppola has sent a sweet message to his former dance partner Ellie Leach after she shared a stunning picture with her Instagram followers.
The pro dancer and Coronation Street actress, who played Faye Windass on the ITV soap between 2011 and 2023, were partnered up for the 2023 series of the BBC dance show. Ellie became the youngest-ever winner after lifting the coveted Glitterball trophy.
After spending months rehearsing and performing live together, Ellie, 23, and Vito, 33, have since formed a strong friendship. Following their Strictly appearance, the pair toured the country in the Strictly Live shows before going their separate ways.
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Ellie recently enjoyed a trip to Puerto Rico in Gran Canaria, and has now shared a gorgeous new snap from her time away. Sharing a photo with her 424,000 followers, she could be seen smiling with her eyes shut as she wore her brown locks tied back and wore natural makeup paired with a striking red lip.
She simply captioned the post with a love-heart face emoji. Always supporting her, Vito took to the comments to write: “Look at youuuuuu Luluuuuuuú,” a nod to the nickname he has for his former dance partner, to which Ellie replied with a string of love heart emojis. Fellow Strictly Come Dancing 2023 contestant Nikita Kanda wrote: “Cutie,” as fellow finalist Bobby Brazier left a queen emoji alongside a red love heart.
One follower @lauren.jaine said: “Glowing,” as @karaalberts commented: “My gorji girlie,” and @jayneorsi wrote: “gorgeous.” Another follower @jess_eadsforthyates said: “SENSATIONAL EL,” as @patmason656 echoed: “Absolutely gorgeous,” and @janedurantaylor added: “Beautiful…I need to know what brand and shade that lipstick is.”
It was recently revealed that Ellie and Vito have been named among the nominees at this year’s National Reality TV Awards. The former soap star and Italian dancer have received a nod in the Best Performance in a Reality TV Show category where they are up against Britain’s Got Talent 2024 winner Sydnie Christmas, Brad Kella from Channel 4’s The Piano and The Masked Singer stars Lemar and Alex Brooker.
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Sharing the news to his Instagram Story, Vito said: “Omg. Cannot believe this! We have been nominated. Thank you so much. For supporting and voting for us please go on this page, click the link and tick our names.” He added: “Babyyy @ellielouiseleach This is a surprise. We didn’t expect that.” Ellie then reshared Vito’s post to her own Instagram Story and said:” Didn’t expect this at all!!!!!! Visit the @nationalrealitytvawards page to vote.”
