Ellie Taylor, the comedian who now hosts Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two, is married to Phil Black, one of CNN's top journalists. Black has covered major stories including the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the search for Madeleine McCann, and the Princess Diana inquest.
Taylor rose to prominence in the 2010s and has remained in demand ever since. Alongside her own comedy tours, she took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2022. This year, she took over the presenting role on It Takes Two from Janette Manrara and Fleur East.
Chance encounter in a lift
According to Taylor, her first encounter with Black happened entirely by chance in a lift in Central London. Speaking to Express.co.uk, she revealed she had recently ended a relationship and was planning to remain single for some time.
Then, just a few days later, she stepped into the lift at her workplace, and Black entered as well. Speaking on stage at Live At The Apollo in 2016, she quipped: "Hot guy gets in the lift and presses level one. We're only on the ground floor, he's only going up one level, lazy."
"Hot guy puts out his hand to introduce himself and says, 'Hi, I'm Phil', and six years later I married him." Reflecting on the encounter in a subsequent interview, Taylor remarked: "That's all true, I used to work in the same office as him. Sometimes life is helpful for coming up with material."
Marriage and family setup
Taylor and Black exchanged vows in 2014 at an intimate, private ceremony in London. The couple have two children together — a daughter born in 2018 and a son born in 2023.
During an appearance on the Second Act Podcast earlier this year, Taylor discussed with Ateh Jewel the distinctive nature of her marriage. She revealed: "Do you know, my husband's a stay-at-home dad?" She acknowledged that this setup makes it challenging for her to step back from the primary carer role, confessing she finds herself "micromanaging" her husband.
"I don't know anyone in my life who has the same setup as us; we don't have anyone who's a stay-at-home dad." "So we are kind of making up as we go along," she continued, adding, "And it's really interesting when the power dynamic or the classic power dynamic of the 'mum at home, dad at work' shifts. It's quite weird because you're kind of in free fall."
Strictly It Takes Two airs Monday to Friday on BBC Two.
