Ellie Leach broke down in tears on Strictly: It Takes Two when she received a heartwarming video message from her famous cousin.
The former Coronation Street actress, 22, and her pro partner Vito Coppola are the favourites to take home the Glitterball Trophy in Saturday’s final.
The actress became emotional when, during an appearance on the spin-off show, she was treated to a video montage of her family.
Her real-life cousin Brooke Vincent, who played Sophie Webster on Coronation Street, shared heartfelt words of support for Ellie.
She said: ‘Ellie is like the loveliest person. Every week when we sit down and watch her, it’s like you see a new part of her come out.
‘She’s grown as a woman, she’s grown in confidence, she’s just glowing! Just go out there and have the best time!’
Ellie wiped away tears as she watched the clip and said: ‘I think, for us, we always just live in the present. We’ve always said, live in the present, don’t think too much about the future because you’ll miss the tiny details,’ the soap star said earlier this week.
‘For me, all I wanted to do was enjoy myself and I wanted to make Vito proud. I wanted to make my family proud and I wanted to make myself proud.
‘I think I’ve done that! So for me, that feels like I’ve already won!
‘But if we were to lift the Glitterball, it would be the most incredible feeling and I’ve just been so grateful for this whole experience. It would be amazing but I really do feel like I’ve already won.’
Ellie portrayed Faye Windass on Coronation Street from 2011 until earlier this year when she departed the soap.
The star will be battling it all out alongside her dancing partner Vito, 31, against Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier, to win the Glitterball trophy.
During another appearance on It Takes Two, Vito spoke about the rumoured romance with the Corrie star as he said: ‘We have so many things to think about, you know, and choreography, and lift up and down, left, right, diagonal.
‘And after we finish, we have the time to eat fast. We nap a little bit because we need to take the energy to continue.’
‘After we go home, we make sure we go to sleep the next day we have to go again.’
The choreographer made clear that despite their strong bond, the pair will be channelling their focus into gruelling training to attempt winning the Glitterball trophy.
‘So we really are so focused on all this beautiful experience. We just had a very great connection, a 50/50 partnership since the beginning,’ added Vito.
Ellie added: ‘I think that, obviously, we’ve danced together for how many weeks now? It’s been three months we’ve been together every single day.
‘And you really have to have a strong partnership to be able to trust in each other.’
Strictly Come Dancing: The Final is on Saturday 16th December at 7pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
