Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola say they're just 'good friends' ahead of Strictly tour

Soap star Ellie Leach and dancer Vito Coppola have faced romance rumours ever since they formed a close bond on the way to winning Strictly Come Dancing, but the couple insist they're just mates.

Leach and Coppola won the 2023 series of Strictly, just a year after Coppola finished as runner-up in his debut series — partnered with singer and presenter Fleur East.

They're dancing together again as part of the Strictly tour, which began this week in Birmingham. Ahead of taking to the floor, Leach and Coppola told the Mirror that their connection is very strong.

Coppola said: "We are going nowhere, don't worry. I am going to annoy you every single day, every week and every single year."

When pressed on whether this meant friendship or romance, both Leach and Coppola were swift to clarify that they were just "good friends".

Coppola added that Strictly presents opportunities to "just find these people that you think are going to stay in my life forever, in each other's lives forever".

The duo recently revealed that they're going to get matching tattoos in the wake of their Strictly triumph, having negotiated from an aubergine tattoo to a bee.

Watch: Ellie and Vito discuss matching tattoo plans

Ellie and Vito emerged victorious in the Strictly final ahead of two other very talented couples — Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin — despite a big lift going awry in their show dance.

Leach became the youngest ever Strictly winner at the age of 22, beating the record set by gymnast Louis Smith in 2012.

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