01 December 2023 , 10:25
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Strictly Come Dancing couple Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola have been accused of 'faking' their romance in a bid to lift the Glitterball trophy.
The dancing duo have set tongues wagging throughout the competition, with rumours the pair are romantically involved flying about on social media. Both Ellie, 22, and Vito, 31, have remained coy about their relationship status – but have continued to share cosy photos together and gushing tributes to one another.
One post in particular even appeared to announce they were an item as they both posted photos looking loved-up and told fans in the joint Instagram share: "Live the present and be grateful for what you have in life. Be happy for waking up every morning and appreciate the small things. This makes the real Happiness.' These are the words that Lulú and I keep repeating to each other #positivevibes #happiness."
Ellie and Vito have set tongues wagging over their cosy displays (Instagram/@ellielouiseleach)
Strictly Come Dancing fans have been hoping the pair are an item (PA)However, a source has now claimed their relationship is nothing more than platonic – and ex Corrie star Ellie and dance Vito have been accused of putting on a showmance in order to win them votes and get them closer to scooping the Glitterball trophy. The source alleged to The Sun: "He and Ellie had an instant friendship and a great connection, but it definitely wasn’t sexual.
"However, once viewers picked up on their connection, Vito especially was keen to let people jump to their own conclusions.
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"By letting people think they’re together, the hope is they’ll further endear themselves to the nation." Meanwhile, some of their fellow Strictly stars are said to think the pair's set up is "a bit cynical" – but the pair are "genuinely having fun together".
It comes after Ellie's cousin Brooke Vincent gushed over the former Corrie star's growing confidence on the show, crediting Vito for bringing out a new side to the once-shy star. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at Hits Live Manchester, Brooke said of Ellie's Strictly experience: "I'm so glad that she's had this experience to be able to show people everything that we love about her. She's had this massive confidence boost and she's just getting better and better and for us to sit back at home and watch her, it's really really nice."
The star continued: "I just think she's what Strictly is all about, she didn't know how to dance and she's learning how to dance. Vito is a really lovely teacher. He pushes her and I think when someone comes in and sees a certain side of you that you've never experienced before or seen before, it's really, really nice that she's got confidence in him as well.
"She's just dead cute, she's lovely, she's kind and dead sweet and I'm loving seeing her confidence grow. Every week it's a different dance and she just comes out and she's like BAM, we're all really proud of her."