BBC Strictly Come Dancing finalists Sarah Hadland and her professional partner Vito Coppola appeared on ITV’s This Morning ahead of the live tour beginning this Friday January 17 in Birmingham. Vito opened up that he will be unable to start off the tour, and will instead be replaced by fellow professional Nikita Kuzmin.
The 32-year old dancer said: “I have got a little injury, it’s like a dancer thing you know”. He added: “We are kind of used to having this kind of pain.”
Vito won Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 alongside former Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach. The 2024 winners were Australian professional dancer Dianne Buswell and Scouse comedian Chris McCausland. Vito and Sarah finished in second place with 118 points out of a possible 120 in the final program.
Last week, in a post uploaded by Vito to Instagram, Vito said: “Team Tiramisu is back! We are so happy to be back together and so excited to be on tour and to see you all”.
On This Morning, Vito revealed he is having physio treatment to hopefully be able to join the tour after “a little rest”. Talking to Sarah, Vito said: “We’re going to be back soon, but in the meantime you will have the best experience”.
Viewers took to X, formally known as Twitter, to express their love for the injured pro. One said: “Vito is great love him!” (@Rosie12_1994).
Sarah is excited for the tour and is looking forward to dancing with Nikita. She said: “I still can’t believe it, it’s just not going to be real”.
The Strictly Come Dancing live tour kicks off this weekend, which will see the celebrities and their professional partners travel around the UK to perform for audiences until Sunday February 9. Vito hopes to join Sarah on the dance floor in Sheffield, which will be on Tuesday January 21.
The tour arrives in Liverpool on Tuesday January 28 for two performances held at the M&S Bank Arena, on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday January 29. Anton DuBeke, Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Bassey and Motsi Mabuse make up the judging panel, meaning all four judges are taking part in the tour for the first time.