EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
Gracefully gliding across the room, Strictly Come Dancing champion Ellie Leach is glowing with a new-found confidence when she reunites with her professional dance partner Vito Coppola – and with good reason.
“Strictly y has changed my life,” the former Coronation Street star tells hello!,, as we join her at rehearsals for the Strictly Come Dancing: : Live Tour. “I’m not scared any more. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone has done me the world of good. I’m really proud of myself for that.”
The change in 22-year-old Ellie hasn’t gone unnoticed by her family and friends, she adds. “My mum likes to use the word ‘blossomed’. They can see I’ve become a more positive person.”
Having gained so much from being on Strictly,, Ellie jumped at the chance to take part in the 30-show tour, alongside fellow 2023 celebrity contestants Annabel Croft, Layton Williams, Bobby Brazier, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Angela Scanlon and
Angela Rippon and dancers Graziano Di Prima, Nikita Kuzmin, Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Carlos Gu, Kai Widdrington, Nadiya Bychkova, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Robbie Kmetoni, Jake Leigh and Nancy Xu.
SEIZING THE MOMENT
Ellie wasn’t the only one quick to say yes: tennis player turned TV presenter Annabel is relishing being back on the dancefloor.
“I understand why dancers do what they do, because it’s so joyful,” she says. “I had to decide between doing the Australian Open and this, but I’ve done that for many years and I can do it again in the future.
“What an opportunity to dance in these amazing venues and see everybody again – it’s like one big family.”
Annabel, 57, made the semifinals with Johannes Radebe, but will be teaming up with Graziano as Johannes’s own touring commitments means he’s unable to join them this time.
Signing up for Strictly after the death of her husband Mel Coleman from cancer last May was a brave step. But the joy of the show – and the close connection she formed with Johannes – showed her a way through her grief, she says.
“It was a perfect time [to do it]. It’s not to say that the grie
