This is an interesting twist on the idea of introducing a handsome young man to your parents. Pure contestant Ellie Leach brought her dance partner back to her parents’ house for dinner. And it gets off to a stormy start.
“He has become part of the family. “They love him and he loves my mother’s sauce,” she reveals. Pardon? “My mother made beef stew – just regular beef stew, nothing special, I thought, but he loved it, and every time he comes to tea he asks, ‘Is there gravy?’ ‘
“He” is, of course, Vito Coppola, 31, the Strictly pro who sweeps Ellie off her feet and the man who helps her, as she emphatically tells me, “to find my own personality”.
His Mediterranean heritage may make him an unlikely fan of traditional British dishes, but they are one of Strictly’s most intriguing combinations. The former Coronation Street actress is just 22, a self-confessed homebody from Manchester who still lives with her parents and, despite acting since she was nine, seems shy.
He’s the Italian Stallion, an 11-time Latin American champion who’s something of a heartthrob. He and his pop star partner on the Italian version of Strictly became an item in real life, although the relationship was over by the time he moved to the UK.
Pure contestant Ellie Leach brought her dance partner back to her parents’ house for dinner. And it gets off to a stormy start
Vito Coppola, 31, is the Strictly pro who sweeps Ellie off her feet and the man who helps her, as she emphatically tells me, “to find my own personality”.
Vito is an all-rounder. His fans joked that his chest hair should have its own social media account. His adoration for Ellie is displayed as extravagantly as his flamenco swagger. He calls her “my baby,” “my Lulu,” and “a diamond.”
At the end of their unusually sexy Argentine tango last week, when viewers thought they were about to pounce on each other (and not in the “Oops!” way), he explained how he got this sweet girl to let go of her inner tiger.
“There’s a ball of fire between us and I said, ‘Look at me and eat me with your eyes,'” he told shocked co-host Claudia Winkleman, who may never recover.
The viewers liked it. And guess what? Ellie seems to love it too.
“Vito is wild,” she tells me, laughing. “But that’s what makes every single day so fun.” I’ve never done anything like this before, but he’s such a great teacher and great person that he gives me the confidence. “Vito encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone.”
She tries to explain how he takes her to the other zone. “We take a deep breath before we go out so I forget about the judges and the audience and it’s just Vito and I on the dance floor.”
Ellie and Vito were a couple to watch from the start, but the spark between them wasn’t necessarily what initially captivated viewers – it was the humor. While Vito speaks four languages (Italian, English, Russian and Spanish), his knowledge of English led to some moments where the two collapsed from laughter due to misunderstandings.
There was a time when he brought a “Lula hoop” to help her with hip movement. Even funnier was the moment when, slung awkwardly over his shoulders, she told him that she thought she was going to fall. He misunderstood her Manchester accent, thought she had said “fart” and put her down very quickly. She still laughs about it today.
“I don’t think I’ve had that much fun.” “Every day we just laugh.”
They are now the bookmakers’ favorites to win the Glitterball trophy, perhaps showing how winning and complex the chemistry between them is.
Of course, there’s only one question that fans of the series want answered. Are they a couple in real life? There have been rumors and – damn it – Ellie is in no hurry to confirm them today.
“There is always speculation about the couples on Strictly,” she says shyly. “But honestly, we’re just so busy dancing.”
No you are not! You just said he was coming over for tea! What do your parents think of him? “They absolutely love it when he comes over, and so do I.” I like the idea of him taking them to the salsa bars in Manchester every night – but he doesn’t do that either.
But after the year she had had: she lost her job and separated from her long-term partner, no one could begrudge her a bit of glamor. She doesn’t come from a showbiz family – her parents both have “normal” jobs – but as a child she took acting classes because she was painfully shy. “My mom thought it would give me confidence and I just loved it.”
At the end of their unusually sexy Argentine tango last week, viewers thought they were falling in love with each other
Ellie and Vito were a couple to watch from the start, but the spark between them wasn’t necessarily what initially captivated viewers – it was the humor
After a few commercials, she won her first film role in A Boy Called Dad in 2009, when she was eight years old. The following year she auditioned for Corrie. She then played Faye Windass for 12 years.
Everything happened to Faye and none of it was glamorous or glittery. She had a heroin-addicted mother, was adopted, got pregnant at 12, ended up in prison for attacking the wrong person, and had early menopause.
Ellie poured her heart into the role and wowed audiences by portraying some harrowing storylines, but the dream job ended earlier this year when her character was written out.
Today, being the nice girl that she is, she speaks warmly of her time on the soap, which is known to be protective of its young stars. “It’s really like a family,” she says. “You get a tutor on set and you’re really looked after.” It’s still a strange environment to grow up in, isn’t it? “It’s like a bubble,” she agrees. “I grew up with adults, so to speak. “You realize you’re a professional just like you’re a kid, so you grow up a little quicker.”
She admits that losing the role was scary “because it’s scary to go somewhere you’ve been for a long time,” but now “I believe things happen for a reason.”
The same applies to her personal life. For the last five years of her time on the soap, she had a steady boyfriend, Reagan Pettman, a dancer, but they split around the same time she left Corrie.
She has previously said that he cheated on her. She doesn’t want to go into details today, but it’s clear it was a turbulent time.
Ellie has dropped a few dress sizes since taking part in Strictly, but the bigger difference is internal
And then – drumroll, please – came Strictly. And Vito. Let’s just say it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
“I was so ready for everything – the sequins, the ruffles, the tassels.” I thought, ‘I’ll take it all.’ However, it was nerve-wracking because for the first time I wasn’t playing a role, it was about me, about finding my own personality.” The focus is often on how the Strictly contestants’ bodies change.
Ellie has gone down a few dress sizes, but the bigger difference is internal. “It’s crazy how everything has changed.” I don’t like the word “journey” that people use when they talk about Strictly, but there’s no better one because it’s true. My life has been a rollercoaster and I’m surprised at how much it has affected my entire life. I even stand differently.
“I’ll wait for a coffee or something and notice that I’m holding myself more ‘upright.'” But I’m also becoming more resilient. I tend to think in terms of “Okay, I can do it” rather than “I can’t do it”.
“When I see that my parents are proud of me and Vito is proud of me, then I’m proud of myself.” “I believe in myself a little more.”
But is she hungry to win? “It’s funny because right from the start I said to Vito, ‘I’m not a really competitive person,’ and he said, ‘You have to be competitive – with yourself.’ And that’s how I am now. I just want to be the best I can be.’
She now runs to training and throws herself into Vito’s arms. The evidence is that she loves herself a little more than she did 11 weeks ago, which is already a win.