Odd sequins of events..
Strictly Ellie’s dad mends her trophy in shed after it broke in bag on train home
STRICTLY Come Dancing winner Ellie Leach has revealed her father fixed her glitterball trophy in his shed after it broke in her luggage.
The former Coronation Street star, 22, became the competition’s youngest winner in December with her professional partner Vito Coppola.
However, the highly coveted winner’s trophy took a bit of a battering while on a train journey.
Asked if reports she broke it were true, she told BBC Breakfast: “Umm, maybe, but it’s all fixed now. My dad took it to his shed and he’s fixed it all up.”
Explaining how it happened, she said: “I was just being quite humble, really. I had to get all this stuff from London on the train to Manchester.
“I didn’t want to carry it so it was in my bag and it broke. My dad fixed it and now it’s perfect, in the middle of the table for everyone to see.”
Leach, who is currently on the Strictly live tour with Vito, said being on the BBC show was transformational. She said: “I didn’t realise how much I would have learned about myself and it completely changed me for the better.
“It’s something that’s completely out of my comfort zone.
“I’ve never danced before, so it’s the unknown. I just really tried to embrace the whole experience.
“I just was like, ‘whatever Vito says to me, I’m just going to do it’.”
Ellie and Vito, 31, have sparked rumours of romance, but are yet to go public. Asked about their closeness, Vito said last week: “We have a great relationship. You just find these people that you think are going to stay in my life forever, in each others lives forever.”