Strictly reunion! Zara McDermott, Ellie Leach and Nikita Kanda enjoy dinner ahead of new series
Strictly Come Dancing is known for forging close bonds between its contestants - and it looks like the friendships from last series have continued off the dancefloor as three stars caught up over dinner.
Winner of the 2023 series Ellie Leach enjoyed a girls' night out with fellow contestants Zara McDermott and Nikita Kanda, amid reports that she has "split" from Strictly co-star Bobby Brazier. Coronation Street star Ellie, 23, was the BBC show's youngest ever champion alongside pro dancer Vito Coppola, who she was rumoured to have found romance with during the series.
However, the pair confirmed they were just good friends and after the series ended she was said to be dating fellow finalist Bobby, 20 - although they are now thought to have ended their relationship.
Ellie looked very happy to catch up with Zara and Nikita, as they smiled for selfies over dinner and posed together in a bathroom. The trio shared the photos to Instagram, with Zara adding the captions "my girl", "sisters" and "the best night" to her photos from their dinner.
While Ellie, Zara and Nikita appear to have stayed close friends, they didn't star in Strictly together for long - radio DJ Nikita was eliminated second and reality star and documentary maker Zara was out fifth, while Ellie made it all the way to lifting the Glitterball Trophy.
Ellie and Bobby are rumoured to have split at the end of March after the Strictly live tour ended, as the former Corrie star is based in Manchester while EastEnders actor Bobby lives in London.
A source told The Sun at the time: "Love blossomed between them when they were in close quarters on the tour, but once that ended they both spent much less time together. That gave them space to think about the future, which is likely to take them in very different directions over the coming year or two.
"So they decided the best thing to do was quit while they were ahead and while they were still pals, because they both really cherish the friendship they have."
