Vito Coppola and his Strictly partner Ellie Goldstein will be performing their first live dance tomorrow as BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing gets underway with the first live show of the series. Vito, who won the 2023 series with partner Ellie Leach, found out he was paired with the Gucci, Vogue and Adidas model during the show launch on Saturday, September 20.
Ellie is making history as the first ever contestant on the BBC show with Down syndrome. Ellie is a trailblazer in promoting inclusivity as she was the first ever model with Down syndrome to grace the cover of British Vogue. She was announced as the ninth member of the class of 2025.
Reacting to the news, the 23-year-old said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to be joining the cast and pros of Strictly Come Dancing this year.
“It’s a show I’ve loved watching for so long, and the chance to now be part of it feels like a dream. I know it’s going to be challenging, but I’m ready to do it with the glitter and glamour and make some magic on that dancefloor. Let the Strictly journey begin!”
Sharing a clip from rehearsals and from the launch show this morning, Vito captioned a social media video: “Oh oh…she is my best friend in the whole world.
“Good morniiiiing. We are going to announce our team name later today…We are very excited, stay tuned.” Strictly contestants and their celebrity partners typically come up with a name that viewers can refer to them as throughout the series.
Behind-the-scenes, there has been a lot of rushing around from producers to find a replacement as Dani Dyer had to pull out this week. Dani confirmed she can no longer remain in the contest.
She said: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.
“Apparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so l’ve had to pull out of the show.”
She added: “To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on.”
Dani had been partnered with Nikita Kuzmin. Dani’s Strictly partner Nikita has spoken about feeling “gutted” after Dani was forced to pull out of the BBC dance show. He shared photos and videos of the two and the short time they have shared together on their Strictly journey.
Dani’s replacement has today been revealed by BBC. Former Love Island winner Amber Davies will replace Dani on Strictly Come Dancing.
Amber, who is now on the west end and has impressed in a number of roles including as Jordan Baker in the London production of The Great Gatsby and Vivian Ward on the UK tour of Pretty Woman, said: “This has been the craziest 24 hours of my life. I’ve watched Strictly with my family since I was younger and to now be part of the show is a dream come true.
“I’m going to give it my all and I am sending Dani well wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope I do her proud.”
Ellie actually wanted to be paired with Dani’s partner before the show kicked off. When she was announced a contestant for the show last month, Ellie appeared on BBC Breakfast and told hosts she wants to be partnered with Nikita Kuzmin.
She said: “I love him so much. He’s got such a heart-warming, loving smile and makes me smile”, she joked: “I want to marry him at one point.”