30 September 2023 , 19:01
758
0
Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Leach says the BBC show is helping her to believe in herself - admitting she has "always" struggled with low-confidence.
The former Corrie actress, 22, who was cast as Faye Windass aged just nine, says in spite of her career on screen she is not as strong as she looks. And she was knocked earlier this year after learning that boyfriend of five years Reagan Pettman had cheated on her. The pair split soon after.
But Ellie told how she is dancing her way back from the heartbreak with the help of partner Vito Coppola, who is encouraging her to be kinder to herself. Ellie admitted: "Self confidence is something I've always struggled with - and I think as an actor, people don't see that. They think that you're just this confident person, and you can do anything.
"But personally I don't have much self confidence, so I'm hoping Strictly will bring that for me, push me, and make me realise I am capable of doing things. Sometimes I say I can't do something, and in the next breath I've done it - so I'm hoping the show can help me believe in myself a bit more."
Ellie, who performed an elegant foxtrot to Fairground Attraction's Perfect with Vito last night (SAT), went on: "Being cheated on was upsetting, but now is the perfect time for me to put my all into Strictly and give that 500 per cent.
Strictly's Molly Rainford and Tyler West fuel romance rumours while on tour
"I want to do well for myself and learn a new skill. I've always wanted to be in the dancing world, so I can't wait to push myself and have fun. Vito has taught me so much already. He keeps telling me: 'This is a competition with yourself, you're competing against yourself. So if you're tired, fight it, if you're stressed, fight it.'
"I also don't praise myself enough for doing something right - I'll do something right and something wrong, and always focus on the wrong. But he will say to me: 'Yeah, but you just did that.' And the fact that this is all new to me, means it is good I'm picking up some stuff. I should be like: 'Yeah, I did that right.' It's just all about building that self-confidence, and believing in myself."
Ellie's sizzling first routine with pro Vito won praise from all four judges last week, with Shirley Ballas hailing her as “absolutely amazing.” But while the actress admits Vito has had a real impact on her already, she insisted that thoughts of romance are far from her mind.
She said: "My focus is on the dancing and that's all I want to do. Is the Strictly Curse even a thing? I don't think I have enough time to think about that, all I'm thinking about is pointing my toes all the time.
"The physical closeness is weird. They say when you dance two people become like one, so you have to be in each others' faces all the time. It does help to be an actor. But poor Vito, because I've been sweating, I've been crying. I'm such an emotional person, and I will cry at anything - if I'm happy, I cry, if I'm sad I cry, if I'm excited, I cry, if I'm angry, I cry. So whether it's tears or sweat, he's going to end up soaked."
Actress Ellie, who is known to millions as cobbles schoolgirl Faye, left the ITV soap when her character was seen moving to Slough.
But while she loved her time in Weatherfield, she admits she is thrilled to have the chance to show people her own personality. She went on: "It was really emotional to leave Corrie, because I'd worked there for over half of my life. It was my home and I loved it. I was leaving the people I had grown up with, and I will always cherish everyone there - cast and crew - and feel part of that family.
"I'm so grateful that I was able to play Faye for so many years and grow up with absolute icons, but now I'm excited for people to see me and to be myself. I don't know if I'll be able to get my head around people saying Ellie in the street rather than Faye.
"But the fact that I left, and got a job so quickly.. I do think everything happens for a reason. And that's why I'm really embracing it. Especially the costumes, because I've spent most of my life for the last decade wearing either my own or Faye's school uniform."
After ditching the school ties, Ellie says she has thrown herself into the glamour of the show - and is even buying sequin dresses in her spare time. But she says she has also had some pretty unglamorous moments while rehearsing.
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman 'sign deal' to host Strictly for two more years
She laughed: “I told the wardrobe team to throw it all at me. I’m hoping I end up in a sequined catsuit. After trying on some of my outfits for the first time, I went home and bought a sequined dress online. That’s how long it took me to be Strictlified. At the start, I was like: ‘Sequins, glitter, make-up, clothes’, now I'm like: ‘Bruises, sweat, tears, blood.’ I don’t think I anticipated how hard it would be. But I am having so much fun, and I am trying my best so I really hope it pays off. I want to make Vito, my family and myself proud.”