Yahoo News BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Ellie Leach left 'crying her eyes out' over Vito Coppola as she makes 'so mad' admission
Ellie Leach has said she was left 'crying her eyes out' as she looked back at some moments from her Strictly Come Dancing journey. It was back in December that the actress became the youngest-ever winner of the BBC One dance contest.
Ellie danced and performed her way throughout the 13-week competition alongside her professional dance partner Vito Coppola, with the pair facing stiff competition in the grand final from Dianne Buswell and Bobby Brazier and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.
Ellie, 23, and Vito, 33, were then left speechless when host Tess Daly confirmed they were the winners of Strictly 2023 before they lifted the coveted Glitterball trophy.
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But following her success in the BBC One dance contest, Ellie landed her first stage role in the play Cluedo 2 - The Next Chapter. She took over the role from Helen Flanagan at the eleventh hour and hit the ground running following the end of the Strictly tour in February, while Vito carried on with life on the road alongside his fellow dancers in the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals tour.
The dance partners and now friends have since enjoyed a few reunions but it appears her Strictly journey coming to end is still an emotional subject as she found herself watching videos fans had made from their time in the show together as well as other clips since the end of the show when they've reunited.
Sharing one on from Vito's vlog on her Instagram Story on Thursday (June 20), Ellie said: "I spend my days watching these edits. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry. It's great entertainment."
The former Coronation Street star then shared a video which featured a clip of the last video the pair filmed together on the Strictly Live tour as they prepared for the last show together. "I also cried my eyes out this morning watching this," Ellie said before another admission to her fans.
"I've watched all of our dances over and over again but I've only ever watched our showdance once. I was so mad with myself that the ending didn't go to plan and so I just didn't want to watch it. But this clip makes me feel really proud of what we did, the bond that we built and the trust we have in each other is so wonderful and although it didn't go to plan on the night, I'm so proud that we continued to take risks every week."
Ellie, who shot to fame playing Faye Windass for more than a decade in ITV's Corrie, added: "Thank you all for always supporting us. It brings me so much joy to watch these clips and remember the time we had."
It comes after Ellie and Vito were both left speechless and delighted as they were given some exciting news. It was 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.
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."
