Strictly: Ellie and Vito address rumours of romance
Former Strictly star Brendan Cole has blasted the BBC dance competition after he thought one element of the final was “boring and pointless”. Soap star Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola were crowned champions on Saturday evening.
The New Zealand professional dancer, who spent 15 seasons on Strictly Come Dancing, had his say on the finale which saw three couples battle it out in a bid to win the coveted Glitterball Trophy.
“I have two opinions on it. I think it was still a good show. I think that the contestants were good. I think they had good publicity. For the most part, I enjoyed watching most of the dances. I wouldn’t say there are too many things that are negative. I’d say the scoring was really high which is boring and pointless,” he explained to Sky Bingo.
The three final couples included Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, and lastly Ellie Leach and Vito. Each pair had to perform three routines during the final in the hope of winning the whole show.
During the night, some couples managed to notch a perfect 40 points from the judges. Ellie and Vito’s American smooth scored 40, as well as Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin’s quickstep.
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Despite Ellie and Vito winning the show, their showdance routine scored the lowest marks during the evening. Performing to a Jennifer Lopez mashup, the dance included cart-wheeling lifts and saw a mistake at the very end which left Ellie visibly upset.
Layton and Nikita were the only same-sex partnership to make it to the final. During the series, the duo scored four perfect 40s and cemented themselves as one of the highest scorers in Strictly history.
However, Layton Williams did receive some criticism from Strictly fans throughout the series over his history of dance experience. The 29-year-old first shot to fame when he appeared in the West End production of Billy Elliot.
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Prior to the final, he hit back at online trolls and said that the hate has been brought on by his “multiracial background” and sexuality. According to MailOnline, Williams has said that the level of criticism he’s received has been “shocking”.
Speaking to the newspaper title, he said: “Obviously, I was aware of the fact that it might have noise, but I definitely did not anticipate how much it has been because I am definitely not the first person to be in this position and I don’t understand why it’s shock horror news because I’m not the first and won’t be the last, let’s keep it moving, you know?
“From the very beginning, I’ve been like, cool, if people are going to expect a certain level, let’s give them that and then some.” In October, EastEnders actress Michelle Collins claimed that it is “not fair” to have him on the show.
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