Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Leach has responded to romance rumours circulating about herself and professional dance partner Vito Coppola, after receiving a kiss on Saturday night's live show (November 11).
The Coronation Street actress and pro dancer performed a Rumba to Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colours' this weekend, earning a score of 35 points, which saw them finish second on the leaderboard.
The couple celebrated the end of their routine with a hug, with Vito additionally planting a kiss on Ellie's cheek. In a new interview with OK! Magazine, Ellie denied that the kiss was anything more than platonic.
Related: Strictly's Ellie Leach reveals Vito "nearly lost an ear" in training
"It was only a kiss on the cheek,” she says. "He gives me a kiss on the cheek every Saturday! It was definitely on the cheek."
In the joint interview, Vito clarified that his show of affection is down to him being a "very, very warm person".
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"I just like to hug," he adds. "But no, we’re a good team."
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In recent weeks, fans and media outlets have speculated that the two are romantically linked, with Vito recently referring to Ellie as "my baby" in an Instagram story.
In the same interview, Ellie reiterated the two's "friendship".
"We really, really get along and we have a lovely friendship," she said. "I hope we can continue that. We've got a really good relationship where we kind of know what the other needs."
Related: Strictly's Krishnan Guru-Murthy breaks silence after show exit
Ellie explains that one of these "needs" includes the odd nap during rehearsals.
"If my brain's not in the room he'll be like 'Ellie, you need to take 15 minutes, just close your eyes. Just have a little nap and then reset and we'll go again.'
"Sometimes your brain is filled with so much new information that you could be going over it for an hour and nothing is going in," she says.
Ellie and Vito are one of six couples heading to Blackpool for this weekend's show, where they'll take to the floor in the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
