Strictly’s Vito and Ellie Leach fuel romance rumours as they reunite and cuddle up after Christmas apart

STRICTLY stars Vito Coppola and Ellie Leach have fuelled romance rumours as they cuddled up together after a Christmas apart.

The pair raised a few eyebrows during their stint in the competition last year - and many thought that they were secretly an item.

Ellie, 22, and Vito, 31 - who were crowned winners of the BBC programme - spent over 12 long weeks together as they trained for each Saturday night's live show.

Over the festive period they spent time with their loved ones, but now they have reunited to start training for the tour.

Vito took to his Instagram story to share their happy reunion.

"We are back DAY ONE," he wrote.

Vito said: "So this is the first day of rehearsals and I got my first present from Lulu."

Ellie then jumped into the camera view and gave her partner a huge hug.

He continued: "We are here, back together."

Ellie sung: "Reunited and it feels so good."

It comes after the pair added fuel to their romance rumours as Ellie admitted she was struggling without him.

A week after their win Ellie wrote on Instagram: "A whole week ago. Miss u @vitocoppola."

Days before Vito dropped a huge romance hint with Ellie.

Ellie took to Instagram to post an emotional statement following their win - and Vito raised eyebrows with his response.

He said: "I am not gonna lie. I am crying tears of happiness

"Thank you for trusting me, because without your trust none of what we did would have been possible.

"I didn’t make you shine, and I didn’t really do anything special…

"What I did was just help you to see yourself for what you really are! I saw the light in you since the first moment and you were shining already during our meeting day."

He added: "I have enjoyed and loved every single day and week we had.. and this is just the beginning Lulú."

The pair also recently address their relationship rumours on This Morning.

Josie Gibson asked: "We've seen you on that dancefloor and it was so beautiful to watch. Is there any romance between you guys?"

Ellie laughed and replied: "Honestly, we've just been having the most amazing time dancing and we've built a really strong bond and a friendship that will last forever."

Vito also echoed: "We have a really beautiful bond, a good bond. When you see a person and you connect with a person straight away.

"I'm a very first impression and when we met, we had that feeling that we knew each other for so long. I'm so so lucky to have you in my life."