The Strictly winners’ dance was terrible – I honestly thought he was going to drop her, says former legend
LAST weekend, Ellie Leach and her professional partner Vito Coppola lifted the glitterball trophy.
However, one of their dances in the grand finale has been slammed by a former star of the long-running BBC show.
Former Coronation Street star Ellie, 22, and Vito, 31, were crowned as the winners of the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Despite being the front-runners, they actually received the worst marks of the night as they were given 36 points for their Showdance.
This was after a clear mistake involving an awkward lift, although they scored 39 and a full 40 for their Paso doble and American Smooth respectively.
James Jordan, 45, was a professional dancer on the show from 2006 until 2014, so he knows what it takes to succeed in the competition.
But he slammed the pair for their mistake on the dancefloor as he claimed it looked like Vito was going to drop the actress.
He told Hello Magazine: “Can we talk about the mistake though? They had this step before where he’s holding her legs and she’s spinning around.
“And I was looking at that lift and that doesn’t really look that flattering.
“She’s got her legs wrapped around his arms and she’s face forward and he’s spinning.
“It’s almost like, ‘Right, we’ve got to put another lift in here.’ What else? ‘Oh, just grab your legs and spin around a bit.”
Despite this, he did pay tribute to the winners despite the mistake, as he agreed with the public vote as the show is not a ‘proper dance competition’.
James admitted: “The right people won. The correct people won the show. Strictly Come Dancing is not a proper dance competition.
“It shouldn’t be a proper dance competition. It’s about being invested in the couple.
“Your favourite might be different to my favourite. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate added: “I can sit here and tell you who’s the best dancer, technically, and fundamentally.
“Does that mean that’s the person I should be voting for? No, and that’s what makes Strictly great.”
He even thinks that in terms of improvement, it was EastEnders star Bobby Brazier who came the furthest in the competition.
“I went to my mum’s yesterday and her heart was with Bobby. She said, ‘I just love him’… He’s probably improved the most.
“So if he had won it, I would have said, ‘He was the right winner because that’s who the public wanted to win.’ Whoever the public decides they want to win, it’s the correct winner.”