Strictly Come Dancing champion Ellie Leach has shared her verdict on the show's new "chaotic" twist, saying she loved the fresh concept introduced in this year's launch episode.
The dance show has returned with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe stepping in for Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. Following last week's opening live episode, the celebrity contestants are now preparing for this weekend's first elimination as they compete for the glitterball trophy.
This year's line-up includes Jaime Winstone, Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey and Melanie Walters. Bethany Antonia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Graeme Hall, Lawrence Robb, Tabby Stoecker and John Nellis complete the 2026 cast.
New partnering format
During the launch programme, the celebrities learned their partner pairings while on the dance floor, rotating between professional dancers several times before the final pairing was announced.
"I loved the launch," Ellie revealed. "I loved the new concept, I feel like the partnering in the dance was so chaotic, I literally loved it. I felt like it worked really well. It felt like the nostalgia of Strictly but with an extra added bit of spice, I really, really enjoyed it."
Confessing how she would have coped in the same circumstances, Ellie continued: "That live switching thing, switching in the dance, I think that would have literally made me be like, 'What is going on?' I'm very much like, if I've rehearsed something with that person, I need to do it with them."
Dance element praised
She added: "There's also such an exciting element to that as well because the way they've done the partnering before, it's not been through dance. It's been like, you meet in a room and you chat through what you're like."
"I think to see more of a dance element in the launch show was really nice. Usually they have the opening and they have the closing dances, and in the middle is just chatting. It was nice to have an extra bit of a dance element in there!"
Ellie was chatting during a partnership with The Royal Mint as Miss Scarlett for the new Cluedo 50p, having originally portrayed Miss Scarlett in the theatrical version of Cluedo 2 in 2024.
Life after Corrie
The former Coronation Street star, who won Strictly with Vito Coppola in 2023, then discussed how viewers saw a different side to her personality on the show following her departure from Corrie after more than ten years.
"When you are used to seeing someone be one person for 13 years, it's hard to break that view. I loved being able to show people my personality and people got on board with me and Vito and they just saw that what you see is what you get. We had the most amazing time, and we had so much fun and built a massive friendship for life. So yeah, I was just really glad they could see that."
She further commented: "I think Strictly definitely opened my eyes to other things. I was on Corrie for 13 years and I started when I was nine years old. So for all that time, it was like that's all I knew. It definitely opened up my eyes to being like, it's not just the Cobbles."
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday from 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
