Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman of Strictly Come Dancing have done little to dispel reports that Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola are dating.
Rumours began when previous competitor Amanda Abbington dubbed them “the most beautiful couple,” and quickly escalated after they were photographed kissing on the cheek and generally looked loved-up on excursions.
Vito, 31, then fueled the fire by making a vulgar remark about the 22-year-old former Coronation Street actress live on TV, while they have also been accused of staging a’showmance’ to win the BBC show.
While appearing on It Takes Two with The Traitors’ presenter Claudia, 51, on Wednesday night, Tess, 54, seemed to imply the pair’s connection is more than friendship.
When asked about the cute couple, Tess arched an eyebrow and shrieked, ‘Oooooh.’
Giving her verdict, she continued: ‘I think with Ellie, she’s just having so much fun.
‘And that’s a part of it for her, because she’s loving every second of the training room with Vito.
‘They get on so well, so it’s not like work for her! It’s like, ‘Yeah, give me another one, I’m loving this.’
Claudia expressed her appreciation for Vito’s excellent influence on Ellie, echoing Tess’ opinion.
She explained: ‘She’s much more confident and he’s done that for her.’
Despite ‘clues’ such as a slew of flattering Instagram captions about Vito and Ellie ‘dating,’ body language expert Judi James previously told Metro.co.uk that they were only pals.
‘They’re the smoulderingly hot Strictly couple who get sweaty, sultry, and sensual out there on the dancefloor each week but is this a romance or a fauxmance? At present their body language signals are saying ‘showmance’, mainly because Vito is trying so hard to suggest otherwise,’ Judi explained.
Vito and Ellie were even interrogated about their relationship status by Lorraine on her ITV show a few weeks ago, but they successfully avoided the difficult subject.
Vito interjected, saying how close they’ve gotten and how he now considers Ellie’s family his own.
‘I’ve honestly found that not just Ellie, but her family have become like another family to me,’ he shared.
Meanwhile, Ellie’s mum Karen previously expressed her view that her daughter has ‘blossomed into a beautiful, young, confident woman’, with the professional dancer ‘helping her focus on her self-confidence and inner strengths’, as well as her dancing skills.
The plot thickens…
It Takes Two airs weekdays on BBC Two from 6.30pm.
