Strictly’s Ellie and Vito fuel romance rumours as fans are convinced they ‘kissed’ on live TV

STRICTLY Come Dancing partners Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola fuelled romance rumours as fans were convinced they ‘kissed’ on live TV.

The pair performed their steamiest routine ever as they took on the Argentine Tango to Destiny’s Child track Bills, Bills, Bills.

Ellie and Vito’s faces were so close together during sections of the routine that many viewers believed they locked lips.

While it was hard to tell for certain given the cameras angles, speculation was rife on social media.

Fans took to X, formerly twitter, to dissect the red hot moment.

One asked: “Was that a real kiss ?!”

A second added: “Thought they kissed there”

A third chipped in: “Ellie and Vito totally nearly kissed on national TV.”

A fourth agreed, saying: “Ellie and Vito made me blush. They damn near kissed!”

And a fifth commented: “They essentially kissed.”

The much talked-about moment drew a divided reaction from the judges however.

Anton Du Beke claimed the dance “lacked a bit of intensity”, while Craig Revel Horwood believed it was missing some “intimacy”.

Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse were more positive, however, praising their clean lines.

Shirley said: “I find that focus and control together to be absolutely outstanding.”

Motsi said: “I thought it was brilliant guys, end of story.”

As the scores came in, Craig and Anton awarded a nine, while Shirley and Motsi both gave a ten, meaning they topped the leaderboard with 38 points.

Speaking about the routine, Ellie said: “It was very serious and it’s very hard to be serious when all we do is laugh all day, but I loved it.”

Vito, meanwhile, revealed his advice to Ellie for the performance was “eat me with your eyes”.