Strictly star Vito Coppola reveals surprising replacement after battling health issue

Strictly Come Dancing star Vito Coppola has confirmed that he will be replaced for several of his upcoming engagements after needing to recover from back pain. The dancing pro, who won the 2023 series alongside Ellie Leach, revealed that he has been replaced for the first three shows of the live tour, which will see Nikita Kuzmin replace him.

Chatting on This Morning, he explained: "I have a little injury. We are used to having a little bit of pain in the body, but I’m battling some lower back pain at the moment.

"I can walk and move, but going and doing full-on dancing with lifting and sharp twists… it's best at the moment to have a little rest… But hopefully, I will be able to dance again from the Sheffield shows."

He has since revealed that Anton Du Beke will dust off his dancing shoes to replace him at the Dance with Us classes alongside Shirley Ballas. The update read: "We have an update regarding the Birmingham classes.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, Anton Du Beke will be stepping into Vito’s place to teach with Shirley in Birmingham on both Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th January. Shirley and Anton can’t wait to dance with you in Birmingham!"

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Fans were disappointed but understanding, with one posting: "I feel so sad for Vito, he was soooo excited about these dance classes," while another person added: "Ahhh I hope Vito is OK but I'm as excited to see Anton with Shirley on the 18th."

A third person wrote: "How fab it's Anton!! But also gutted not to see Vito!!"

Despite needing time to focus on his recovery, Vito appeared to be in good spirits after confirming his replacement, and kept fans up to date with his morning routine, including enjoying two rounds of breakfast, including a banana and pineapple followed by Eggs Benedict.

The star recently shared his joy at reuniting with Sarah Hadland for the tour. Sharing a clip of them hugging, he wrote: "Team Tiramisu is back! We are so happy to be back together and so excited to be on tour and to see you all." We hope that he’ll be back on his feet soon!