What’s next for Ellie Leach? Strictly Come Dancing’s youngest ever winner, 22, ‘will be a millionaire by her 24th birthday and hosting top BBC jobs’

Ellie Leach is predicted to earn a million pounds and have top jobs by her 24th birthday thanks to her 'smart' decision to take part in Strictly Come Dancing.

The former Coronation Street actress, 22, took home the Strictly Glitterball on Saturday night after beating Bobby Brazier and Layton Williams in the final.

Ellie captured viewers' hearts with her energetic routines and her steamy moments with partner Vito Coppola set tongues wagging, with the two reportedly in a secret relationship.

The soap star, who went into the final as the heavy favourite, emerged victorious and was the youngest ever winner of the popular BBC ballroom show.

And according to one expert, her future looks just as bright as he predicts she has 'all the makings of a big star on stage and screen'.

The former Coronation Street actress, 22, took home the Strictly Glitterball on Saturday night after beating Bobby Brazier and Layton Williams in the final

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede explains The sun that Ellie and Vito “could be the next Gorka Márquez and Gemma Atkinson after meeting on the show, and use their dance partnership to do personal appearances and appearances.”

According to Nick, Ellie leaving Corrie before her Strictly stint was a 'shrewd' move as she could move to the West End to pursue gigs or other acting roles like former contestants Ore Oduba and Kimberley Walsh.

He said: 'They say when one door closes, another opens – and for Ellie this door is huge and covered in glitter, with movie star lights all around it.'

Nick also predicted that Ellie's stardom could also take her to BBC shows, similar to Helen Skelton who now presents Morning Live.

Nick said: 'Ellie has become a household name and the BBC don't want to let her go, so I imagine a program like Morning Live will interest her in getting the younger audience watching as she's only 22.

“I can see her making well over half a million in a year from brand deals, personal appearances and presentations and TV roles.”

Ellie has barely made a mistake during her time on the show and never scored less than 30, with several of her routines scoring 40 and 39.

She had no previous experience but fans have fallen for the actress, who played a teenage mother called Faye Windass in Coronation Street.

Ellie captured viewers' hearts with her energetic routines and her steamy moments (pictured) with partner Vito Coppola have set tongues wagging, with the two reportedly in a secret relationship

Ahead of her time on the show, Ellie split from her boyfriend and said at the time that she was looking forward to building her confidence.

She told Hello! magazine: 'It was a lot of fun to throw myself into something new. This is all about me now. I just want to give 100 percent of myself to Strictly.

'I'm really looking forward to enjoying it and hopefully gaining a little extra self-confidence.'

Ellie, who starred in Corrie for 12 years, said she wanted people to get to know the real her rather than a character.

She said at the time: 'People have seen me growing up on Corrie and may still think I'm still that schoolgirl, but hopefully people can see that I'm grown up now. I want people to know me for me, and not so much as a character.”

Ellie and Vito, which is said to be an item, were both stunned when their names were announced, with the soap star's family bursting into tears as they watched from the studio audience.

The overwhelmed duo choked back tears as they hugged each other before speaking to presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

“I really can't believe this,” a stunned Ellie muttered before exclaiming that this was the first time she had ever seen Vito, 31, cry.

She had no previous experience but fans have fallen for the actress, who played a teenage mother called Faye Windass on Coronation Street (pictured on set)

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told The Sun that Ellie and Vito “could be the next Gorka Márquez and Gemma Atkinson after meeting on the show and could use their dance partnership to do personal appearances and appearances.”

'This is for you!' Ellie told her partner, who said the win was just the 'icing on the cake' before calling her a 'diamond'.

They raised the glitterball trophy as fireworks sparked and confetti fell from the ceiling as they were lifted onto the shoulders of their former competitors.

The pair had impressed during the final after performing a Pasa Doble, Show Dance and finally an American Smooth.

The final of the three earned them a whopping 40 points, with the judges raving about the actress's 'growth' and blossoming confidence during her time on the show.

The routine was labeled 'flawless' with Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all scoring 10 points each.

When they later spoke to co-host Claudia, they struggled to contain their emotions, with Vito saying: “For me, Ellie is Strictly” before throwing his arms around her and saying: “She's my winner after all!”

Their very steamy Pasa Doble opened the show as the people sizzled in skimpy costumes, earning an impressive 39 out of 40 points – as well as a standing ovation.

The judges again were full of praise as they enjoyed the former soap star's improvement throughout the series.

But the evening went smoothly for the pair after their Show Dance proved to be slightly less successful, with the pair making few mistakes and a fail lift.

As Ellie tried to jump onto the Italian's shoulders, Ellie slipped, forcing him to save her before she fell to the ground.

She seemed upset about the mistake, with Vito throwing his arms around her and repeatedly kissing her on the cheek in an attempt to comfort her.

“You know what's amazing,” Judge Shirley said of the fall, “how you made it, you didn't panic.”

When the couple then joined presenter Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly for the scores, they received 36 out of 40.