The Wheel Ellie Leach's life off-screen from Strictly Come Dancing win to new role
Strictly Come Dancing winner and Coronation Street star Ellie Leach will be on hand to help guests win money on Michael McIntyre's The Wheel.
The popular quiz show on BBC One on Saturday (November 30) sees several celebrities help contestants answer questions and build up prizes for them to win.
Ellie Leach's career is continuing to grow after she won the Glitterball trophy during the 2023 edition of Strictly Come Dancing. Born in Manchester on March 15, 2001, the actress appeared in TV adverts and had minor roles before landing the role of Faye Windass in Coronation Street.
Faye's biggest storylines saw her struggle with bullying, teenage pregnancy, finding her birth dad, sexual assault and being diagnosed with premature menopause.
Ellie Leach also made her stage debut alongside Casualty's Jason Durr in Cluedo 2, which toured the country earlier this year.
Outside of TV, what do we know about Ellie Leach's life and career?
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Ellie Leach's Strictly Come Dancing Win and Vito 'love' rumours
The Corrie actress took part in the BBC series shortly after her exit from the ITV soap. Pairing with Vito Coppola, the duo stood out as the best pairing in the 2023 competition and they went on to win the series.
Ellie and Vito soared to success on the dance competition, overcoming opponents such as EastEnders star Bobby Brazier and actor Layton Williams from Bad Education. Their winning American Smooth delivered them a perfect 40 for the first time in the series.
Their undeniable chemistry sparked rumours of a romance among fans and on social media, but both firmly denied any romantic involvement.
Reflecting on their journey, Ellie told us about the profound impact the show had on her, saying, "The days after were very emotional.
"My time at Strictly was life-changing, and to have the bond and friendship I made with Vito was amazing. It's the sort of friendship I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I'm very lucky and grateful for the experience."
Despite both getting matching bee tattoos, Ellie and Vito maintain they are just great friends.
Ellie explained: "From the moment we met, we just clicked," adding that they found the perfect mix of fun and hard work. They keep in touch regularly, with Ellie revealing, "We message every day," and considers Vito as part of her family now.
Is Ellie Leach in a relationship?
It is not publicly known if Ellie Leach is in a relationship, but she has had a few famous relationships over the years.
Ellie Leach previously Reagan Pettman for five years after they met on an acting course at The Manchester College.
They were together for five years as Ellie starred as Faye Windass in the ITV soap. It is understood the pair split up around her departure from Coronation Street.
As rumours circled around Ellie and Vito, Ellie entered into a brief relationship with Strictly finalist and EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier.
Reports online suggest they grew closer during the Strictly Come Dancing Tour in January 2024. After being seen together in public during the tour, they made their relationship official in March 2024.
They later split.
Ellie Leach's famous cousin
Ellie Leach is a cousin of Brooke Vincent, who played Sophie Webster in Coronation Street between 2004 and 2019. At the time of her casting, Brooke said: "I am chuffed to bits for her.
"She has made me so happy. We are all thrilled about it and I can't wait to be with her on set to show her around."
The cousins also have a close bond. Referring to herself as Brooke's "mini me", Ellie wrote on Instagram: "All I’ve wanted to do since I was younger is be like you.
"To dress like you, to have my hair the way you have yours, to wear them 7inch platform heels you wore which I still have no idea how, but most of all to be the kind of person you are.
"You can tell what type of person someone is by how highly people speak of them, and i’ve never heard a bad word said about you!
"I think i’ll forever be known as Ellie, Brooke’s cousin but i will always be so proud to be that and to have you by my side through life!"
New role after Strictly win
Following her Strictly Come Dancing win, Ellie secured the role of Miss Scarlett in the comedy-mystery play Cluedo 2.
Cluedo 2, which is based on the popular Hasbro board game, has been written by BAFTA Award winners Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and directed by Mark Bell, the director of the original hit UK production of Cluedo and the global hit, The Play That Goes Wrong.
Ellie, who had been appearing in the show across the country, said that life has been “very, very busy”.
She previously said: “I’m very grateful to be working, of course, and to now be doing something new, obviously came straight from Strictly, did the tour, and then started rehearsals for Cluedo whilst doing the Strictly tour. I feel like I'm just constantly running on adrenaline.”
According to the actress her Corrie co-stars have been very supportive of her work on-stage in Cluedo 2.
She added: “On the opening night of the show, a lot of the cast from Corrie came to watch. It was really nice to see them because I've not seen them for a while. There was a lot of people supporting and I'm really grateful that people are following me around and supporting what I'm doing.”
