Strictly Come Dancing champion Ellie Leach has shared her thoughts on the show's new partner-reveal format, describing it as "chaotic" but saying she "loved" it.
The dance contest has returned with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe taking over hosting duties from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. Following last week's opening live programme, the celebrity contestants are now preparing for this weekend's first elimination as they compete for the glitterball trophy.
New partner reveal format
During the launch show, the celebrities discovered who their professional partners would be while on the dance floor, rotating between dancers multiple times before the final pairing was announced.
"I loved the launch," Ellie said in an exclusive interview. "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."
Reflecting on how she would have coped in similar circumstances, instead of a pre-recorded meeting, she said: "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 welcomed
Ellie, who won the 2023 series with Vito Coppola, 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 speaking during a partnership with The Royal Mint as Miss Scarlett for the new Cluedo 50p, having previously played Miss Scarlett in the theatrical version of Cluedo 2 in 2024.
Life after Coronation Street
The former Coronation Street actress, who played Faye Windass for over a decade, also discussed how fans saw a different side to her on Strictly. She said: "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 added: "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." She continued: "It definitely opened up my eyes to being like, it's not just the Cobbles."
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays from 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
