Showbiz
Ellie Goldstein: I still dance every week with my Strictly partner Vito Coppola
The pair have continued to learning the dances they did not get to perform after being voted off the show
January 2, 2026 17:08
The pair have continued to learning the dances they did not get to perform after being voted off the show
January 2, 2026 17:08Ellie Goldstein has revealed that she continues to dance with her Strictly partner every week Vito Coppola, despite exiting the show two months ago.
The Jewish actress and model became the fifth celebrity to be eliminated from the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing in November, but she grew so close with professional dancer Coppola – who regards her as a “little sister” – the pair still get together every week, and he leaves her voice notes most days.
Speaking to BBC News, Goldstein, 24 said she was initially sad to leave Strictly but she was now learning the dances the pair did not get to perform: "We're learning all the dances we didn't get to do, and we're going to go bowling and to Nando's soon.”
Recalling the moment she discovered she would appear on BBC One’s flagship Saturday night entertainment show, she said: "The phone rang, it was my agent, and she told me I was going to be on Strictly. I just started screaming."
Goldstein, who in 2023 became the first model with Down’s Syndrome to feature on the front cover of British Vogue, said of Coppola when the duo were eliminated: “He is a kind person and all I wanted from day one. You have been so heartwarming, thank you."
Coppola responded: “Honestly, there are no words I can use to describe how proud I am of you, and you did really change my life so much.
“You made me such a better person. At the beginning of this year, I said to myself ‘Please, please, please can you send me a beautiful angel into my life?’ And now you [have] arrived.”
“I've never had a little sister but I always wanted one. Now, I have you and you're my little sister forever, and your big brother is always by your side.”
Goldstein will be back on stage again soon for the Strictly tour, which she "can't wait for".
The model also revealed she has received hundreds of messages from families of people with Down's Syndrome. She said: "They say I've inspired them, and that makes me happy. I want to show that having Down's syndrome doesn't stop you."
Speaking to the JC in 2023, Goldstein said her “tight-knit” Jewish family come together for Jewish holidays and every Friday night for Shabbat, with Goldstein lighting the candles.
“I love Chanukah,” she said. “I like the songs, and I love lighting the candles on the menorah.”
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