Vito Coppola has returned to ITV's This Morning to present a cooking segment, marking his first TV appearance since dropping out of the Strictly Come Dancing tour last week. The professional dancer left fans in tears last week after announcing that he won't be able to finish the Strictly tour after injuring himself. The 32-year-old was replaced by co-star Nikita Kuzmin earlier in January after a back injury forced him to withdraw from a number of shows, however on Wednesday, Vito told fans that he would be stepping down from the tour to "take more care" of his body.

"Thanks to you all, beautiful people, for the support, for the lovely messages, and for everything you constantly do for me. You make me feel loved and warmly welcomed," he said in a social media video. Fans were devastated by the news, with one writing: "Vito has had to pull out of the Strictly tour due to injury, and I am BEREFT." While another said: "Vito confirming he's not doing any shows on Strictly tour what if I CRYYYY.".

Despite the Strictly setback, Vito popped up on ITV on Monday to cook an Italian dish for This Morning's Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard. Serving arancini balls to the presenters, Vito shared how the recipe came from his Sicilian dance partner's father. "In Sicily, we used to go in the night, in the forest, you take the best wild mushrooms. You always want to put the parsley at the end, otherwise it becomes very bitter," he said.

It's not the first time that Vito has stopped by This Morning, with the Strictly star taking to the ITV kitchen last year after winning Celebrity MasterChef. Last month, Nikita - who will be replacing Vito on the Strictly tour permanently to join his celebrity partner Sarah Hadland - opened up about the close connection he has with Vito in an exclusive chat with The Mirror. "I think it is impossible not to keep in touch with Vito. We are probably sleeping next to each other on Facetime," he said. As for how different it is for Sarah to dance with him instead of Vito, he said: "It is getting used to it. Obviously at the beginning, it is getting used to a new person. From my side, I need to understand Vito and Sarah have a relationship and a way of dancing. I need to ask Vito questions on how they do it, so I can help her.

"It's wonderful. It's actually really a blessing to dance with her. I wish Vito all the best and hope he comes back soon.". This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX. Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads . Get all the Strictly glitter and goss straight to your inbox with our Strictly Come Dancing newsletter.