Ellie Leach tells Vito Coppola 'you are my sunshine' after tears during Strictly Come Dancing return

Ellie Leach has shared an emotional message after being seen in tears during her Strictly Come Dancing return. The actress was reunited with Vito Coppola for one last dance in the show's iconic ballroom on Saturday night (September 14).

It's been nine months since the pair last performed together on Strictly having lifted the coveted Glitterball trophy at the end of the 2023 series.

As is tradition, the pair returned during the launch of the 2024 series for one last performance - on the BBC One show at least. They recreated their mesmerising Paso Doble to Insomnia by Faithless which they first performed during week five of last year's series.

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At the time, it scored them their first 10 of the 2023 series from judge Motsi Mabuse, who hailed their performance as the 'best of the season so far'.

Ahead of recreaing the performance, former Coronation Street star Ellie became emotional when she spoke about what it has meant for her to be back. In a piece to camera, she shared: "I am glad we're doing the Paso Doble as the final dance. Everything about this dance just came together so perfectly."

Then her voice broke as she added: "Getting emotional now. I honestly didn't expect this to have such an effect on me personally." Ellie, 23, could be seen wiping away tears after reflecting on her Strictly journey.

Following the show and her and Vito's performance, Ellie took to Instagram with new snaps of the pair taken backstage as they recorded their last dance and said: "And just like that, we danced our last dance. What a joy it was to step on that dancefloor one last time with you @vitocoppola."

She continued to gush: "You are my