Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach has said she would be "lost" without her Strictly Come Dancing professional partner Vito Coppola amid rumours of a blossoming romance between them.
This apparent relationship has thrown fans of the show into a frenzy as many fear the infamous Strictly curse.
With rumours about the closeness of the pair running wild, Ellie broke her silence and revealed how much Vito means to her.
Ellie Leach speaks out about her 'relationship' with Strictly's Vito Coppola
In a clip on Friday night's Strictly It Takes Two, she said: "I don’t even want to think about taking to the dancefloor without Vito.
"I would be completely lost. It would be my worst nightmare."
Ellie Leach and Strictly Come Dancing's Vito Coppola recently showed their fondness for one another when they shared a kiss live on TV.
This happened on BBC One's The One Show where they were asked by Lauren Laverne what they thought about suggestions that they were good enough for the final.
Responding, Vito planted a kiss on Ellie's cheek before giving her a hug and complimenting her.
He said: "Honestly, we don’t really think about the final as a final – we want to live and enjoy every single week, [doing] baby steps, small but solid, and [if] it comes, it comes.
"But otherwise, we are very happy [with] what we are doing. We are having our proper journey, like a rollercoaster, and it’s amazing."
Hours later, Vito shared a post on social media where he referred to Ellie as his "baby".
He said: "To you my Lulú.. I am so proud of you and you know How much I believe in you so just keep going and keep working hard as you are already doing every day.
"You are doing great baby Have a good rest tonight and make sure you eat properly. See you tomorrow for another beautiful day together."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here