Strictly's Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola look smitten on cosy date night

16 November 2023 , 17:25

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Strictly's Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola look smitten on cosy date night

Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Leach and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola did little to dispel rumours of a romance after they were spotted on a date night.

The 22 year old former Coronation Street star first sparked rumours of a romance due to their undeniable chemistry on the BBC show's dancefloor. And now, dressed perfectly for the winter months while out in Blackpool, Ellie wore a beige trench coat over a warm looking black outfit. While Vito donned a heavy black coat and a scarf wrapped securely around his neck. Oblivious to onlookers, the pair seemed to be sharing a joke as they both looked lovingly into each other's eyes as they walked along the street.

Strictly's Ellie and Vito enjoy a cosy date night (SplashNews.com)

Ellie and Vito enjoy time out in Blackpool (SplashNews.com)

Earlier this month, the former soap star took to Instagram and shared a video where she is seen heaping praise on her professional dance partner, as he lovingly placed his hands on her face. Speaking about their Strictly journey, she said: "The whole experience has exceeded my expectations already. I enjoy learning to dance because its a brand new skill and its amazing." Vito then jokingly took responsibility for that, prompting Ellie to add: "Obviously I've got the best partner ever who looks after me and teaches me. He's a great teacher and I'm very, very lucky!"

Vito then chimed in to say: "Thank you, thank you, we have lots of fun." He added: "She cannot take me seriously - I'm explaining that I'm in the zone and I'm in the mood - but she just laughs literally in my face!" And when speaking to OK! earlier this month, their chemistry was even more apparent. Ellie said: "Every day we have so much fun and I go home and I’m like, ‘Oh my cheeks!. We’re just having such a good time. It’s a rollercoaster, but everything is just amazing. Everything is 100% heightened."

Strictly's Vito places a protective arm around Ellie (SplashNews.com)

The Strictly pair share a loving joke (SplashNews.com)

Before competing in Strictly, Ellie's confidence had hit an all time low following her relationship with Reagan Pettman hitting the rocks on the back of cheating allegations. And she was also written out of the ITV soap. She explained: "Before going on Strictly I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do it.’ I never would have expected to be performing live in front of so many people. But now we just do it every week and it kind of feels like my normal life. "

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She added: "I’m not completely confident but every week we’re progressing and that’s something I’m really proud of." But having Vito by her side has given Ellie a new-found confidence. She went on to say: "Every single day he says to me, ‘I believe in you… You can do this… I know you can… Just believe in yourself.’ That’s probably the biggest thing he’s taught me, aside from dancing. He’s like, ‘I believe in you and you just need to believe in yourself.'"

And for Vito, he found it refreshing to have a partner on the show who has never danced before. He said: "I love working with her. It’s better to dance with people who have never done it before because you start with a white page. She never did any sports, any movement, any dancing. I say, ‘Perfect!’”

Lucretia Munro