Strictly: Ellie Leach shares thoughts on bullying allegations
Former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach appeared to swerve any allegations surrounding hit show Striclty Come Dancing as she focused on the brilliant experience she had.
Appearing on ITV's Loose Women, the 23-year-old, who was crowned the winner of Strictly last year alongside dancer Vito Coppola spoke openly to the panel about her life has been since her win. But while discussing what she's been up to presenter Ruth Langsford dug a bit deeper as she questioned Ellie on the latest Strictly scanda.
The hit BBC dance show has been plagued with negativity of late after actress Amanda Abbington, who appeared on the show last year accused her dance partner Giovanni Pernice of "cruel and mean" behavior during training. Following Giovanni's shocking decision to step down, other allegations about the behaviour from professional dancers came to light which also led Graziano Di Prima to quit the show.
Asking Ellie her thoughts on the recent headlines, Ruth said: "You know these allegations of some of the participants saying they were treated unfairly or bullied. What was your experience of that, what do you make of things being talked about at the moment.
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Keeping it positive while sharing how her time on Strictly went, Ellie replied: "I think that I can only speak from my experience and I had the most amazing time. Vito was the most incredible partner and teacher."
She added: "We will be friends forever. He helped me through a journey that was so difficult that I think for me, I had no confidence when I started Strictly and he really helped me build on that.
"He genuinely made me the person that I am today and I'm so lucky to have had that relationship with him. And the experience that I had was incredible."
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Last month, it was revealed that Graziano was not a part of this year's line. A BBC spokesperson confirmed that Di Prima was, "no longer a part of the line-up of professional dancers for the upcoming series".
The spokesperson added: "While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well-known that the BBC has established a robust duty of care procedures, and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate."
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One in September.
