Strictly Come Dancing star Vito Coppola has warned he will “always fight” for Ellie Goldstein amid rumours she has left the show.
Vito, 33, made the powerful and heartfelt pledge to “protect” his dance partner Ellie, 23, following the ongoing false reports claiming she has quit.
Using AI, the Italian dancer first transformed an image of himself into a tiger. In the video clip, he then shared a digitally edited video of Ellie modelling on a catwalk with a tiger walking alongside her.
Vito told his followers: “POV: when people ask how protective I am with my little sister. The answer is, ‘More than you can even imagine!’ I am extremely protective towards people I care and I love the most and Ellie is definitely part of it!!!
“My priority in life is always make people happy. This makes me happy, for me this is happiness!”
Strictly Come Dancing‘s head judge, Shirley Ballas, responded with a red heart emoji. She wrote: “Just beautiful.” Vito’s fellow professional dancer, Karen Hauer, posted the same emoji and said: “Love Love Love.”
Has Ellie Goldstein really left Strictly?
Rumours that Ellie had left Strictly Come Dancing began circulating earlier this week. The claims stemmed from several false news posts on social media, claiming she had quit the show.
One of the posts, shared to thousands of Facebook users, wrongly said Ellie had left Strictly for an “emotional reason”. Ellie – who has Down syndrome – and Vito later rubbished the claims by filming themselves in training.
The pair have also appeared on Strictly’s spin-off show, Strictly: It Takes Two. During their interview, Ellie and Vito discussed last week’s performance. Ellie admitted the beautiful Waltz left her feeling “emotional“.
She told host Janette Manrara: “During the dance, I got a bit emotional, on the inside, not on the outside. But it was all worth it for that dance because great comments, great scores, I loved the dance.”
Ellie and Vito’s Movie Week dance
This weekend is Movie Week on Strictly Come Dancing. Ellie and Vito are taking on The Barbie Movie for their performance. The pair will be doing a Samba to the film’s song, Dance the Night.
The Barbie theme is close to Ellie’s heart. In 2023, the model and actress was made an ambassador by toy giant Mattel for the first Barbie with Down syndrome. At the time, Ellie explained how important it is to have such a doll, as she had nothing to relate to when she was growing up.
During her appearance on It Takes Two this week, Ellie said: “I am so, so over the moon with this dance. Barbie means everything to me. I like all the movies and all the dolls so this dance will be really great for us. It’s got all the bounciness, the cheekiness and sassiness and the vibes.”
Vito confirmed Ellie will be portraying Disco Barbie on Saturday, while he will be her Ken.
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When is the next episode of Strictly Come Dancing?
Strictly Come Dancing’s Movie Week starts at 6.05pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Saturday (October 11, 2025). Wicked fans are in for a treat, as Cynthia Erivo will be making a very special appearance.
Cynthia, who plays Elphaba in Wicked, is spending this week in the rehearsal rooms with the celebrities and their pros. She will act as a guest mentor and will also sit on the judging panel on the weekend.
The two lowest scoring celebs will have to do a dance-off in Strictly Come Dancing: The Results. This airs at 7.15pm, also on BBC One, on Sunday night (October 12). Sadly, it will mean a goodbye for another couple!
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing’s Lewis Cope described as ‘forgettable’ by ex pro despite past dance training
Strictly Come Dancing returns next Saturday – see all schedule details here.
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