Strictly’s Ellie Leach makes confession about Vito’s new partnership

ellie leach and vito coppola, strictly come dancing 2024 launch show
Strictly’s Ellie Leach on Vito's new partnershipGuy Levy - BBC

Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Leach has made a confession about Vito Coppola’s new partnership on the show.

Ellie, who starred as Faye Windass in Coronation Street, partnered Vito on the BBC show last year, with the pair charming the judges and audience as they eventually went on to lift the Glitterball Trophy.

ellie leach, vito coppola, strictly come dancing 2024
BBC

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Such was their close bond, the duo shared in January that they had got matching tattoos to signify their partnership, but the actor explained that she doesn’t want Vito to repeat the trick with his current celebrity partner on the show, Sarah Hadland.

“[I’m] maybe quietly hoping that he doesn’t get a tattoo with Sarah. I don’t know. They could do something else that can symbolise their partnership,” Ellie told Romesh Ranganathan during an appearance on BBC Radio 2, before explaining the meaning behind the tattoo.

“We have a little bee. He’s got a tattoo on the back of his arm that says ‘resilience’. Every time we would be in the rehearsal room, I kind of felt like I’d built that up. He also told me that the bee is the most resilient insect, and obviously the bee is the symbol of [my hometown] Manchester.

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“So we just decided that we would have this little tattoo. But also, the little bum of the bee is shaped like an aubergine. We were the aubergine team in the series. He loves parmigiana and I’ve never tried it,” she continued, adding that the tattoo was “very unique” to them.

Ellie and Vito’s close bond was further signified with a reunion – of sorts – on Monday's episode of Strictly: It Takes Two, with the actor surprising the professional dancer with a video message as she wished him a happy birthday.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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