Strictly Come Dancing winner Ellie Leach on her love for Blackpool

On Sunday night (December 17), 22-year-old actress Ellie Leach, who played Faye Windass on Coronation Street between 2011 and 2023, won the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball trophy with dance partner Vito Coppola.

During Ellie's time on the show, celebrity reporter Aimee Seddon was able to catch the star for a chat about all things Strictly and Blackpool.

To celebrate to her win, we thought we would share some of Ellie's favourite memories of the seaside town below...

Remembering her many visits

Ahead of the Blackpool week on Stricty, the Bury born star was asked if she had ever visited the town before and Ellie revealed she had plenty of times as a youngster, with Blackpool only being a short drive from Manchester.

Ellie said: "I've been to the tower. I've been up at the top where you can stand and you can see right down the bottom. I haven't been to the actual ballroom, but I've been at the tower... But the ballroom at Blackpool is iconic."

She later added: “I love a Blackpool fish and chips – I feel like you can't beat them!”

Reminiscing on the illuminations

Sharing a stand out memory of Blackpool, Ellie said: “We always used to go and see the illuminations. That's a real special memory for me from when I was younger, like we'd get in the car, me and my mom and my auntie and my sister and my cousin, and we'd all drive to Blackpool and we’d drive down the front and see the illliminations and get fish and chips and doughnuts and stuff like that. It's a place that I've always loved growing up.”

And reminiscing on a bad idea...

Ellie told the Gazette: “When I was younger actually, my uncle took me to Blackpool and we went on the peer and me and my best friend and my cousin, we went on the waltzes 11 times in a row… can you actually imagine?”

Later in the interview she even told her professional dance partner Vito that she would be taking him on the waltzes during the Blackpool week to which he responded: “I will try maybe after the show, just to avoid any kind of reaction!”

What did Ellie say about her time during the Blackpool week?

Taking to Instagram on the day of the Blackpool show, Ellie shared a picture of herself and Vito holding a huge bear in a Blackpool arcade.

The caption read: "I can’t believe we’re here in Blackpool, it feels so surreal to be dancing in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, an iconic place for dancers and for non-dancers!! I grew up coming to Blackpool every year with my family, and to be dancing here as a part of Strictly Come Dancing is a dream come true.