Strictly's Ellie Leach accidentally 'soft launches' new man before swiftly deleting the picture

Strictly's Ellie Leach has accidentally 'soft launched' her new man on Instagram before swiftly deleting the picture.

The Coronation Street star, 25, took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday with a black-and-white snap of her holding hands with a mystery man.

The photo was taken from above and showed the pair walking as they held hands.

'Happy Birthday,' she penned on top of the post with a red heart emoji.

However, the snap did not stay online for very long, with Ellie quickly deleting it from her stories, but that has not stopped fans speculating on if the star has found love again.

The Daily Mail has contacted Ellie's representatives for comment.

Ellie, who tends to be private about her personal life, hasn’t been in a public romance since her time on Strictly.

During the show in 2024, the soap star was heavily linked to fellow competitor, model and actor Bobby Brazier, despite the pair denying that they were ever romantically involved. 

But in March that year, it was reported that they decided to split as their busy lives were going in different directions, just weeks after their romance first emerged.

Bobby and Ellie first sparked dating rumours during Strictly Come Dancing in December and grew closer during the BBC show's tour in January and February.

However, as Bobby returned to his character Freddie Slater in EastEnders, Ellie was busy touring UK theatres in the Cluedo stage production.

A TV insider told The Sun: 'Love blossomed between them when they were in close quarters on the tour, but once that ended they both spent much less time together.

'That gave them space to think about the future, which is likely to take them in very different directions over the coming year or two.

'So they decided the best thing to do was quit while they were ahead and while they were still pals, because they both really cherish the friendship they have.'  

Ellie and her pro partner Vito Coppola were crowned Strictly champions, with the pair repeatedly dogged by romance rumours throughout the series.

The former Coronation Street actress became the show's youngest ever winner as she pipped Bobby and Layton Williams to the post.

However, the pair clarified their relationship status last week, with Vito insisting they are 'going nowhere', but confirmed they are just good friends.

Before Bobby, Ellie was in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend of five years, Reagan Pettman. 

The couple split in May 2023, after he confessed he had kissed another girl during a drunken night out.

Reagan went on a bar crawl in his hometown of Preston in November 2022, where he chatted to a girl on the dance floor.

He said 'all of a sudden' they were kissing, but he can no longer recall what she looks like.

Reagan waited until March last year to tell Ellie he had cheated on her.

He said he was unable to forget about the incident, repeatedly tried to tell her but said the right moments 'passed and passed'.

Saying 'Ellie deserved to know out of respect', Reagan hoped the pair could work through their difficulties, but she decided she could no longer trust him.