BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Vito Coppola fights tears as he shares emotional message on 'special day'

Strictly Come Dancing professional Vito Coppola has shared an emotional message as he continues to spend time away from his family in Italy

Vito Coppola, the BBC Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, was visibly emotional as he marked a poignant day with a heartfelt message to his family. The star frequently talks about his close ties to his relatives back in Italy.

Vito, currently apart from his family while competing on BBC One's flagship dance show with actress Sarah Hadland, last visited Italy between late December and early January. After triumphing with Ellie Leach in the final of Strictly 2023, taking home the Glitterball trophy, his return home wasn't the restful period fans might expect, as he was seen assisting his father and brother on their farm.

Amid his dedication to his dance career in the UK, Vito turned to social media to express his feelings regarding his family. He posted a selfie on his Instagram Story on Wednesday (October 2), looking emotional and distracted during his commute to the third-week rehearsals for Strictly 2024.

His caption was particularly touching: "Today is a special day. Today is Grandparents Day, that I love very much. I miss you guys."

It was only after extensive rehearsal sessions with Sarah, preparing their Viennese Waltz to Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter for the show’s Movie Week special scheduled for Saturday (October 5), that Vito offered an additional insight into his day, reports the Manchester Evening News.

He took to Instagram to share a series of 10 candid snapshots in his latest main grid post, which he also highlighted on his Instagram Story, adding the heartfelt message: "To my family: I think about you every day. Miss you. I love and feel you always with me... Everything I do is for you because you are my life."

In addition to his main post, Vito wrote: "10 pics challenge accepted. Just 10 pics right now in one take, without any selections, here we go! This is me in one of the moment during the day thinking about my family and the people I love. I like to travel, car, train, bus, tube or plane..., it doesn't matter... I always look up to the sky, thinking about my family."

"Miss and Love you and I know that where I will be and whenever I will look up we will look at the same sun, sharing the same sky, and this makes me feel not that far away from you, protected and always loved. Love you to the moon and back, well, in my case I love you to the sun and back. Vi amo. V."

Ellie quickly replied with a simple yet affectionate comment, "Love you," while his current dance partner Sarah expressed her adoration with a series of love heart eyes emojis.