Strictly winner Vito Coppola crowned Celebrity MasterChef champion

Italian nonrecreational dancer Vito Coppola has been crowned the 2024 Celebrity MasterChef champion.

His triumph comes little than a twelvemonth aft helium and personage spouse Ellie Leach lifted the glitterball trophy connected BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing successful 2023.

The 31-year-old bushed Irish TV and vigor presenter, Craig Doyle and Line Of Duty histrion Rochenda Sandall.

Coppola stormed the channel’s cookery programme by making a main of Italian seafood pasta, scialatielli allo scoglio, and a godforsaken of Baba Di Vito, a tiny barroom soaked successful rum and served with zabaione, a marsala vino cream, and cherries successful syrup.

“I cannot judge it, look (the trophy) it’s truthful beautiful,” helium said.

“People deliberation that nutrient is conscionable food, but no, I support saying nutrient is life. It’s the archetypal emotion of my life, food, and I cannot conscionable hold to stock each of this with my family.”

After winning, helium rang his gramps and said successful Italian: “Nonno, I won, I won with your ingredients. I came first, I emotion you.”

MasterChef judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode praised the peculiar dishes helium created arsenic helium became the 19th idiosyncratic to assistance the personage trophy.

Torode said: “Vito came into this contention with a intent helium wanted to amusement america his beingness connected a plate.

“What he’s grown up with, the nutrient helium loves and wherefore helium loves it, and what he’s done is made america emotion it too. That’s what bully nutrient is each about.”

Wallace said: “He’s successful emotion with creativity. He is thing rather special.”

Previous personage winners see opera vocalist Wynne Evans, who is connected this play of Strictly, Bottom prima Ade Edmondson, and Loose Women prima Nadia Sawalha.

Speaking astir his menu, Coppola said: “One day, my household and I went to Positano and we had this scialatielli allo scoglio, conscionable eating successful beforehand of the sea. It was 1 of the champion days ever, truthful I privation to bring that time to MasterChef.

“The dessert is Baba, which is similar my mum and my Nonna utilized to marque for maine connected Sunday.”

Coppola is partnered with Miranda histrion Sarah Hadland for the 2024 bid of Strictly.

The brace volition execute connected the unrecorded amusement for the archetypal clip connected Saturday arsenic they creation the Quickstep to 9 To 5 by Dolly Parton.