Vito Coppola and Fleur East
Vito is paired with singer and radio presenter Fleur East (Picture: PA)

Vito Coppola is one of the four new professional dancers making their debut to Strictly Come Dancing this series.

He was welcomed to the ballroom alongside fellow newbies Michelle Tsiakkas, Carlos Gu and Lauren Oakley.

For the 20th special of Strictly, which has the biggest number of pros yet, Vito is paired with radio DJ and singer Fleur East.

The 30-year-old is an 11-time Latin American Champion from Italy, who began dancing at the age of six and was already winning national championships by the time he turned ten.

As well as being a three-time World Championship finalist and a European Cup winner, Vito has also appeared on Ballando con le Stelle (Italy’s Dancing with the Stars).

And he’s not really a stranger to the Strictly franchise either, having won the Italian version with pop star Arisa in 2021.

Ahead of making his debut on Strictly, the 30-year-old shared: ‘I am really excited to become part of this family.’

He continued: ‘I cannot wait to start this new adventure and to challenge myself. Strictly sto arrivando! (or: Strictly I am coming!)’

Fleur and Vito were the last couple on the ballroom floor last week, and were awarded a respectable 28 points, after receiving 7s from Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Shirley Ballas and an 8 from Anton Du Beke, putting them fourth place on the leader board.

Fleur’s previously opened up about the ‘amazing’ time she’s having being partnered with Vito.

Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain earlier this week, Fleur joked that all she does these days is ‘dance and sleep,’ and praised Vito for helping her learn the complicated dances.

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‘We reflect each other’s energy, we bounce off each other,’ she said of their partnership.

‘We laugh a lot but work really hard at the same time, and when we perform it’s just amazing. When we perform I can’t wait to do it again!’

Other returning pros include reigning champ Giovanni Pernice – who lifted the glitter ball with EastEnders’ Rose Ayling-Ellis in December – and runner-up Johannes Radebe, who danced in the first male-male pairing with John Whaite.

Meanwhile, celebs taking to the dance floor include Helen Skelton, Will Mellor, Kym Marsh, Richie Anderson, Jayde Adams, Ellie Simmonds, Tyler West, Ellie Taylor, Molly Rainford, Tony Adams, Hazma Yassin and James Bye.

Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 6.30pm on BBC One.

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