16 March 2024 , 20:47
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Strictly champ Ellie Leach’s nimble footwork has helped her pivot from the quickstep to making a quick buck by selling £50 video messages to fans.
The former Coronation Street star – who at 22 became the youngest person to lift the BBC contest’s Glitterball trophy – gets cash for filming greetings on her phone.
And her pro dance partner in December’s victory, Vito Coppola, offers a similar service on the website Cameo – but for £79 each. Ellie is not the only Weatherfield star cashing in on fame to flog videos. We previously revealed how Corrie legend Bill Roache, 91, who has played Ken Barlow in the ITV hit since 1960 and is paid £250,000 a year by the soap, is raking in thousands by charging £51 per video as he battles bankruptcy.
For £90, fellow cobbles star Bev Callard, 66, who played barmaid Liz McDonald, will send a message. And a greeting from former EastEnders star Danny Dyer, 46, costs £100.
Meanwhile, the price for a video from Matthew Wolfenden, 43, has been slashed to £16 since he left Emmerdale and split from his wife. Right-wing politician and GB News broadcaster Nigel Farage, who charges £75 a video, has trousered an estimated £200,000 since joining the website in 2021.
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On Friday, Vito, 31, sent his own emotional video to Ellie on Instagram for her 23rd birthday, calling her: “My Lulu, my baby.”
He and Ellie were dogged by rumours during the show that they were romantically involved. But Ellie is reported to be in a relationship with fellow Strictly competitor Bobby Brazier, 20.