STRICTLY COME DANCING'S VITO COPPOLA DETAILS HIDDEN 'CHALLENGE' IN EMOTIONAL ROUTINE

On Saturday evening, Strictly Come Dancing's Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola wowed the judges with their touching performance.

The pair earned a score of 23, placing them ninth on the leaderboard, with Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe claiming the top position, after the professional's recent career revelation.

BBC audiences witnessed Ellie and Vito deliver a butterfly-inspired Waltz, though it appears there was a concealed moment of profound meaning in the dance.

During Tuesday's It Takes Two episode, the couple chatted with presenter Janette Manrara about their performance, which she described as 'beautiful'.

She remarked: "You started on your own again on the stairs, did you have any butterflies in your stomach?" Ellie responded: "I had nerves at first but they were coming down, the Waltz was a good dance, it was a great dance by Vito."

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The model described the routine as graceful and elegant, adding: "I got a bit emotional but on the inside, not on the outside."

Janette questioned the professional dancer about how impressed he was with Ellie's showing, as he disclosed the genuine reason behind incorporating the stairs into their routine, reports Wales Online.

He answered: "Honestly, I was really trying not to get emotional during the dance! The moment, coming down from the stairs.

"This is also our own little journey, we want to have a little challenge, and Ellie was a little bit afraid of getting down from the stairs on her own.

"I said, that's why we're going to set this challenge, you're going to come down on your own and we're going to meet on the middle of the floor and I was so, so proud.

"The moment you were spinning around, I thought, oh she's going to fly now like a butterfly."

Ellie also shared her joy at having her sister in the audience during the live show, with the BBC star revealing how much she enjoyed watching her perform.

Vito chimed in: "Remember before the dance, you said to me, 'I want to make my sister proud tonight' I'm sure you did."

Janette added: "I had tears in my eyes watching you two, it was so beautiful."

Looking ahead, the pair are set to participate in Movie Week, where they'll be performing a Samba to Dua Lipa's track Dance the Night from the film Barbie.

It Takes Two is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday on BBC One from 6:05pm.

2025-10-07T19:07:06Z