Ellie Louise Leach (born 15 March 2001) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Faye Windass on the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' between 2011 and 2023. Following her exit from the soap, she won the twenty-first series of the BBC contest ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''.

Early life

Leach was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

on 15 March 2001. Leach attended

Fairfield High School for Girls Fairfield High School for Girls, is an all-girls' secondary academy in Droylsden, Greater Manchester, England. Admissions There are around 950 girls and over 50 teachers. The current Headteacher, in post since September 2024, is Fee Lealman. ...

. Leach is a cousin of

Brooke Vincent Brooke Levi Vincent (born 4 June 1992) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Sophie Webster in the ITV soap-opera ''Coronation Street'', which she played from 2004 to 2019. Early life Vincent was born in Audenshaw, Greater Manch ...

, who played

Sophie Webster Sophie Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 November 1994. She was played by Ashleigh Middleton from 1994 until 1997 and by Emma Woodwar ...

in ''Coronation Street'' between 2004 and 2019.

Career

Leach began her television career appearing in television advertisements for Staples and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. In 2009, Leach appeared in the film '' A Boy Called Dad''. In 2010, Leach appeared in an episode of '' Moving On'' as Stacy. In 2011, she was cast in the role of Faye Butler, a potential adoptive child for Anna ( Debbie Rush) and Eddie Windass (

Steve Huison Steve Huison (born 2 December 1962) is a British actor who is mostly seen on television and occasionally in films. He is best known for his roles as “Lomper” in the film ''The Full Monty'' (1997), Steve Greengrass in the Victoria Wood situa ...

) on the ITV soap opera ''

''. In April 2023, it was confirmed that Leach would be leaving ''Coronation Street'' after 12 years in the role of Faye, with her departure scenes set to air in a "huge story" in July 2023. It was initially reported that Leach had chosen to leave ''Coronation Street'' but would not be killed-off, leaving the door open for the actress and the character to return in the future. However, Leach later confirmed the show's bosses had told her they could "see no future for the character" resulting in her role being axed. Following her exit from ''Coronation Street'', Leach signed up to appear as a contestant on the twenty-first series of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

dance competition ''

''. She was partnered with professional Vito Coppola and the pair went on to win the competition. At age 22, she became the youngest celebrity to win the show, a record previously held by Olympic gymnast Louis Smith of series ten, who was 23 at the time. Strictly Come Dancing performances

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Ellie 2001 births Living people English child actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses Actresses from Manchester Strictly Come Dancing winners