BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Vito Coppola tells co-star 'I'm so sorry' as he makes emotional 'promise'

Vito Coppola told his Strictly Come Dancing co-star he is 'so sorry' as he reacted to the news of her early exit from the competition. The Italian star was paying tribute to his fellow dancer Amy Dowden after she was forced to withdraw from the hit programme.

The heartbreaking news the Welsh dancer wouldn't be able to continue competing in the BBC One dance contest with JLS star JB after suffering a foot injury was confirmed earlier this week.

Amy recently "fell ill" and was forced to miss a week in rehearsals and, therefore, the latest live show on Saturday night (November 2). Lauren Oakley stepped in so JB could continue to perform over the weekend in the first-ever 'Icons Week'.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Janette Manrara addresses 'emotional' time amid parenting decision

However, it has since been confirmed that Amy won't be able to return to the competition as she recovers from a foot injury and JB will carry on the remainder of his time on the hit dance show with Lauren.

Following the news, Amy issued a statement saying her "heart was breaking" at having to make the decision before vowing to support JB and Lauren, describing herself as their "biggest cheerleader".

Her Strictly co-stars were rushing to show their support, including Vito. The dancer, who is currently competing in the dance show with actress Sarah Hadland, shared a picture of himself and Amy taken behind the scenes during the show's Movie Week.

Alongside it he emotionally wrote: "Beautiful Amy @amy_dowden. I am so sorry that you are not able to continue this journey in the way we would like, but don't stop smiling. I promise that if you cannot dance in this moment, I will dance also for you and I will find my personal way to make you part of this because were are a family and I love you. We all love you."

JB has since appeared on Loose Women with Lauren to talk about the news and what's next for the pairing. Charlene White began the interview by asking the popstar:"'Does it feel strange after so many weeks of saying JB and Amy to you being introduced as JB and Lauren?" to which he admitted: "So strange. I've definitely not gotten used to it, but yeah it's one of those things of course.

"No one would have ever wished for an outcome like that but you know the show must go on and you have to deal with it. Of course, the most important thing for us is that Amy gets better and gets time to rest."