Strictly star Ellie Leach's life off-screen: Famous cousin and movie career before Corrie

We know him best for his brutal critiques on Strictly Come Dancing, but show judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he is about to embark on a new career venture away from the BBC show. The 58 year old dance expert, who has been a judge on the show since its inception in 2004, will soon be stepping back into the spotlight as part of the cast of the The Wizard of Oz! Craig will be stepping into the formidable shoes of The Wicked Witch of The West, during the show’s UK and Ireland tour throughout 2023 and 2024, as part of a memorable new musical adaptation of the L. Frank Baum novel.

Shirley Ballas was forced to backtrack on telling women they should carry Tasers to protect themselves.The Strictly Come Dancing judge suggested that woman should carry the weapon but later apologised when she was informed that they are illegal for personal use.The 63-year-old had not realised that Tasers, which can shock people with a 50,000 volt charge, are only allowed to be used by trained police in the UK. She made the comments on BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour, when she said: "All women in today's society should become more vigilant. It's important that people take care of themselves, maybe carry Tasers, things like that.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have become convinced that they've spotted the early signs of a feud simmering between head judge Shirley Ballas and professional dancer Karen Hauer. The 41 year old Venezuelan star is now the longest-running pro on the BBC competition series, having first teamed up with Westlife singer Nicky Byrne back in 2012. This year, the dancer is teamed up with comedian and radio star Eddie Kadi, 40, but the pair have had a rollercoaster journey so far.

Chris Coghill is probably best known for his role as Tony King in EastEnders, which he played between 2008 and 2009. The character was introduced as Bianca Butcher's partner, but Tony soon turned out to be a predatory paedophile who had been grooming his step-daughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty).The heartbreaking storyline was the catalyst for years of trouble and torment for Whitney, whose character was just 16 when Tony was sent to jail for his crimes. However, Whitney has had to revisit her triggering past as of late, due to her and partner Zack Hudson's journey to adopting a child.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Eddie Kadi has revealed that his co-star Nigel Harman was unable to dance just hours before Saturday night’s live show. The comedian appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday 12 October, to talk all things dancing after he managed to bag the first 10 of the series on Saturday for his couple's choice routine. Revealing it wasn’t all plain sailing, Eddie said that several celebrities were hit with injuries in the lead up to the show, including Nigel.

Lawrence Robb joined the cast of Emmerdale back in 2020, bursting onto the Yorkshire Dales scene as Moira Dingle's trouble making long lost brother, Mackenzie Boyd. Or Mack for short. Since his first episode, it's fair to say Mack has caused plenty of drama.

Samuel West has been incredibly successful in the acting and entertainment business over the years. From starring in the long running series Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead and Poirot, to his stint in Netflix's The Crown, he now spends his time playing the role of eccentric veterinary surgeon Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5's popular period drama, All Creatures Great and Small.The 57 year old has been a staple part of the cast since the show premiered in 2020, with filming taking place in the quaint and quiet Yorkshire Dales.

Strictly Come Dancing 's Vito Coppola and Coronation Street 's Ellie Leach have continued to fuel rumours of a romance after they were seen looking very 'cosy' during an appearance on This Morning. The pair, who are partnered on the show together this year, certainly looked very comfortable in each other's company as Vito, 31, wrapped a close arm around 22 year old Ellie's shoulder on the This Morning sofa - even appearing to give her arm a comforting stroke.

Strictly Come Dancing 's Vito Coppola and Coronation Street's Ellie Leach have further fuelled romance rumours as they were spotted looking cosy as they left a party together. Pro dancer Vito, 31, and Ellie, 22, who are partnered on the show, posed happily side-by-side on the red carpet at Sunday's Pride of Britain awards. And amid swirling rumours of a fledgling romance, the pair were seen deep in conversation as they left an after party, with Ellie linking her arm through Vito's.

Shirley Ballas has spoken out on the terrifying alleged kidnap plot against Holly Willoughby admitting the news has made her 'nervous'.

Gemma Atkinson has broken her silence after her fiancé, Gorka Marquez, was dumped from Strictly Come Dancing alongside his celebrity partner, Nikita Kanda on the third week of the BBC show. Gorka, 32, and Nikita, 28, found themselves in the dreaded dance-off, alongside former Love Island star Zara McDermott, 26, and her pro partner, Graziano De Prima, 29. Ultimately, the judges all voted to save Zara and Graziano, with head judge Shirley Ballas revealing that she would have done the same, had it come to a tie.

Since joining Strictly Come Dancing back in 2021 as a professional dancer, Nikita Kuzmin has danced alongside the likes of Tilly Ramsay and Ellie Simmonds. And in the current series of the BBC One show, Nikita has been partnered with actor Layton Williams in a same-sex couple and the duo recently left viewers “in tears” when Layton performed the Viennese Waltz dressed as Sandy from Grease while wearing a long skirt. But while TV viewers may be familiar with 25 year old Nikita when he’s in front of the cameras, they may know less about him away from the show.

There are very few people who don’t enjoy a good boogie from time to time, and members of the Royal Family are no exception. From an early age, the late Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret had ballet lessons provided by London’s renowned Vacani School of Dance, which also taught a young Prince Charles years later.

Strictly pro Neil Jones and Love Island star Chyna Mills have welcomed their first baby.

Coronation Street star Luca Toolan certainly made an impact when he joined the ITV soap earlier this year as bad boy Mason Radcliffe. Recently we've watched Mason rule the cobbles as he continues to influence those around him by leading them astray, particularly when it comes to young Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne). Just last month, we saw Dylan, Mason and Liam Connor picking on Ruby Dobbs in the heartwrenching school bullying storyline.Things between the three boys have escalated since, with more trouble on the horizon as Mason continues to throw his bad boy attitude around.

Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman sadly passed away earlier this year at the age of 78. The professional dancer was only days away from turning 79 when he died unexpectedly.

Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Leach has all eyes on her at the moment, as she is impressing on the dancing show. In week one of the show, the 22 year old was told by head judge Shirley Ballas that she "has it all," but what fans might not know is she has a very famous cousin who she rarely speaks about. Ellie is best known for her role in Coronation Street playing Faye Windass, and part of her family on the show is Sophie Webster, who is played by, Brooke Vincent.

Strictly Come Dancing's Ellie Leach has revealed a worrying injury just days before the second live show of the series. Ellie's dance partner, Vito Coppola, shared a short video on Instagram of Ellie nursing her struggling body.The former Coronation Street actress made her Strictly debut on Saturday, 23 September, and managed to finish quite high up on the leaderboard, scoring 29 out of 40.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Leach, Graziano De Prima and Vito Coppola were seen laughing and joking around as they left studios in London.The Strictly stars had been filming for the spin-off show It Takes Two on Wednesday, 27 September when Italian professional dancers Graziano, 29, and Vito, 31, could be seen sharing a laugh. At one point Graziano got down on one knee and held out a bunch of flowers to Vito in a heartwarming moment.

Strictly judge Shirley Ballas has fired back at a troll on social media who questioned if she'd had surgery.The 63 year old star was back on the panel of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night, as she wowed in an off-the-shoulder pink dress, elaborate earrings and glamorous makeup. A social media user posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, accusing Shirley of marking down one of the female contestants.They wrote: "Shirley underscores a Woman, it begins ...." before someone else replied: "Has Shirley had work done?" A third then said: "A facelift I believe." But Shirley clapped back as she said: "Lol for your information No I have not.