One month after lifting the glitterball trophy, Strictly champions Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola were once again put on the spot over their alleged romance. The pair, who are set to embark on the nationwide tour later this month, appeared on Wednesday's This Morning where they strenuously denied the rumours – however, they are set to make a huge commitment to each other.
Insisting they are just friends, both Ellie and Vito shared they were getting matching tattoos of an aubergine and a bee. "We have a great, great relationship," the professional dancer revealed whilst putting his arm around Ellie.
They changed the subject, with Vito divulging: "We made a promise…" Ellie then interjected: "Weeks ago, we said, if we make it to the final, 'Why don't we get a tattoo? But it was just a joke, we didn't expect to get there."
"Then we made it to the final, and thought we now have to keep the promise," added Vito. "In the end we decided to do a bee with the body of an aubergine because a bee is a Brazilian insect. But that is a symbol of our bond."
Meanwhile, Vito previously spoke to HELLO! and other reporters about ignoring the speculation over their friendship. He explained: "We are in the rehearsals all day, we have so many things to think about, choreography.
"We have to have the time to eat, we nap a little bit, then we go home and we eat and sleep because we rehearse again so we really are so focused. All of this beautiful experience, words cannot describe how we are enjoying every single rehearsal, every single second of this amazing experience."
HELLO! recently spoke with body language expert, Noor Hibbert, the author of Sunday Times bestseller You Only Live Once, about their close bond – and revealed how their chemistry could be down to amazing showmanship.
"Vito is a showman and Ellie is an actress, so both of them have the amazing skill of being able to create a story that emotionally connects in their dancing and have the skills which allows them to come across as though they may be in a relationship," the author explained. "They clearly have a great connection and are comfortable putting on an intimate show, but since both are trained to do this in their own careers, I would say this dance is the work of two people who are very talented at crafting a great show."
She added: "The questioning from viewers of, 'Are they or aren't they' is part of the magic which their dancing creates - hence you have some people saying they may be faking it.
"This isn't to say that their friendship may not be developing into something further behind the scenes. But in relation to their sizzling Argentine Tango, I think they have done an excellent job of putting on a show.
"Ellie is an actress, therefore trained in making an act appear realistic to those watching. Over the weeks, through their dances, we have seen she has got more and more comfortable with him. This happens when a friendship grows.
"This is no different to the speculation about Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in 'A Star is Born'. People thought they were in an off-screen relationship due to the chemistry they created on screen. We may just be seeing the same with Vito and Ellie. Only time will tell if the Strictly curse has struck them."