BBC bosses 'hoping to sign' Ellie Leach for soap role after Strictly stint

06 September 2023 , 20:59

707     0

BBC bosses 'hoping to sign' Ellie Leach for soap role after Strictly stint

BBC bosses are reportedly hoping to sign Ellie Leach up for a new soap role after she completes her stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

The actress, 22, played Faye Windass in Coronation Street for over a decade, but it was recently reported that she was "left with no choice" but to resign after bosses made it clear there wasn't a future for her character on the show. Ellie later admitted leaving the soap was "scary".

Ellie, who joined the cast of the ITV soap in 2011, confirmed Faye's departure from the cobbled streets of Weatherfield in May with a bittersweet post on social media for her 210,000 followers. Shortly after she left the soap, it was confirmed Ellie joined the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing alongside the likes of Les Dennis, Annabel Croft, Nigel Harman, Bobby Brazier and more.

Ellie left Coronation Street after over a decade on the show (@ellielouiseleach/instagram)

She was later confirmed as part of the Strictly line-up (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

BBC bosses are reportedly convinced she'll be a huge hit on the dancefloor due to her popularity on Corrie when the show returns on September 16. It's said they're hoping to get her to join the huge series, Waterloo Road, which returned to screens towards the end of 2021.

"When the glitter falls on the upcoming series of Strictly, they want to tap into her mass appeal and bring that over to Waterloo Road," an insider claimed. Speaking to The Sun, the source added: "They don’t want to leave it too late and have another show snap her up."

Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundaries

Mirror contacted BBC and her reps for comment. Meanwhile, Ellie recently opened up about her exit from Coronation Street while at the Pride of Manchester Awards in May, just days before it was officially announced. "It is scary but I think it's just a crazy situation," Ellie said to the Mirror on the red carpet.

"It's always going to be scary leaving somewhere that you've been for a long, long time, but I also think with risk comes reward. So as much as it will be sad, you can't live in that fear." The new Strictly star continued: "To be honest, I've been working since I was nine years old so I'm going to go on holiday for a little bit.

"I think I'm going to do a little bit of a holiday and just do a little bit of travelling." Ellie went on to confirm she wants to continue acting after Corrie, adding: "I don't have a particular dream role but I love the leading women roles in a rom-com, or like a rom-com series. I'm literally rom-com obsessed."

Zara Woodcock