Strictly’s Ellie Leach wants to ‘be herself’ after Corrie exit – but there’s one problem

Ellie Leach said she’s thrilled to just ‘be herself’ after starring in Coronation Street for so long – but she’s got a little problem that needs sorting out.

The 22-year-old actress played Faye Windass on the ITV soap for 12 years but left the cobbles back in May, and now she’s taking part in this year’s series of Strictly.

But as much as she’s excited to have a break from playing Faye, it seems she’s still got one foot on Weatherfield as she still hasn’t adjusted to people calling her by her real name.

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Speaking to Daily Star and other press about life after Corrie, Ellie said: “I think if someone calls me Ellie I’ll be like ‘What?’, because if it’s Faye I’m like ‘Yeah?’.”

Asked how she feels about signing up to the ballroom so soon after her soap exit, she said: “Yeah! I never, ever expected that I would be doing Strictly anyway and especially so soon after leaving Corrie, but it’s been so amazing and I’ve been so, so lucky to be able to kind of go from Corrie straight into Strictly.

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“It’s something completely different and I’m excited to kind of be myself for a while and not play a character, because I’ve done that for so long. So I’m excited to throw myself into dancing.”

Ellie previously admitted she stole some of Faye’s clothes from set – a sneaky move that will only make her transition from Faye to Ellie even more tough.

She told Daily Star: “I actually took quite a few of her clothes which, to be fair, I’ve always said she’s not really got very good style, Faye.

“But she’s got the odd little piece, like she’s got a cute little jacket or a pair of jeans or a pair of trainers.

“I did take a pair of Faye’s pyjamas actually which I’ve not had off since.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk