Strictly Come Dancing: the final – as it happened

Phew, what a final. What a worthy, heart-warming winner. That concludes tonight’s livebloggery-pokery but please feel free to continue the cha-cha-chat in the comments section. And thanks for being such wonderful company all series.

Don’t go getting dance withdrawal symptoms just yet. We’ve got not one but two hoofing dates for your diaries. It’s Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous Years at 7pm next Saturday.

This is followed, of course, by the Christmas Special at 3.55pm on Christmas Day. There won’t be a full liveblog because, probably like you, I’ll be snoozing in an armchair with a paper crown on my head and Quality Street wrappers at my feet. However, we will publish an article and have an open comments thread, so our sparkly community can discuss the action live and wish each other a glittery Christmas. Please rejoin me then for festive fabulousness.

In the meantime, I’m @michaelhogan on the platform formerly known as Twitter and @michaelhogan100 on Bluesky/Threads, so please feel free to say hi and give me a follow. I post TV and film recommendations for every evening, much like those on these blogs.

Thanks again for watching along with me this year. Merry Strictmas and a Sparkly New Year. For the final time this series: keeeeeep dancing! Nighty night and stay safe.

Iain Crofts in Montreal writes:

Chris McCausland can now rebrand himself as Chris McAwesome. All the finalists were worthy potential winners. Strictly’s 20th year ends on a very high note. Until next series, keeeep dancing.

Regular reader Peter Gibbs says:

Tasha’s showdance was a proper ‘wow’. Just can’t deny it. Then the surprise brother from Oz. I hadn’t really connected with Tasha but I’m in a puddle. Chris and Dianne’s dances floored me too. Shout out to Dame Laura Kenny’s fab-u-lous threads.

And finally from the comments section, some of your thoughts on Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, our brand new glitterball champions. acanthe says: “I am just enjoying how much Chris has got into this. He was so cool at the start, ironic and witty and now he’s whooping with the best of them.

1991fab says: “Loving the Chris and Craig masterclass, and Craig teaching in an accessible way!”

ButterflyBlu says: “Anton saying Chris has the best musicality he’s ever seen in 20 years is laughable and so insincere. I know they want him to win but reign it in a bit, guys.”

Somersetlass says: “Veering between broad smiles and tears here. That certainly was a party. Dianne must have so much trust in Chris to include those lifts. Chris may not be the best dancer but he’s what Strictly is all about.”

YodaknowsAll says: |I don’t care that Chris went a little wrong. I think of all the extra things that he has battled and I well up. Then I smile. He has my vote.”

Storm says: “Watching the little things Dianne does to let Chris know exactly where she is – a hand, her foot one week when she stepped over him – it’s something many people wouldn’t notice or understand but she understood what he needed and provided it in spades.”

irreverentnurse says: “Chris feeling the exhaustion of it all now, emotionally and physically. Well done Chris. Thank you!”

Johnno64 adds: “Chris for Strictly win, Sports Personality of the Year, Eurovision, and the Grand bloody National.”

On Sarah Hadland, Jockette61 says: “Wish they’d picked a different dance for Sarah. I didn’t like that American smooth first time. Too many lifts, not enough dancing. Not much different this time. She’s such a gorgeous dancer, I wanted to see her dancing more.”

JoMK73 says: “Yes, I did rewind to see how long Vito danced with his wardrobe malfunction. And yes, it was quite a long time. Poor Vito!”

Gardener_Maidhc says: “Vito is clutching the trousers for all he is worth but the natural hand-waving exuberance keeps making him forget.”

girlpanic says: “Wow, great end lift there from Sarah & Vito. She looked a little nervous during a lot of the dance though and a bit of an error in the middle which was a shame. A great showdance but not my favourite tonight.”

Poppieshen says: “Maybe it’s because I love a bit of Fosse when it comes to choreography but that Cabaret showdance didn’t do it for me/”

Pancake01 says: “Feel a bit sorry for Sarah, coming after all that. It felt a bit low-key as a consequence. At least we see Vito in PVC again.”

ABH2018 says: “Very good as cha-chas go but not my favourite dance of theirs. I wish they’d done the Charleston.” Hard agree, ABH2018.

VelvetinaB adds: “Kudos to Sarah for having the most dance variety this evening. Ballroom, Latin and a showdance containing other styles. Loved her cha cha cha and Vito’s trousers were the (very tight) icing on the cake!”

On the high-quality, high-scoring Tasha Ghouri, ABH2018 says: “I haven’t been a huge fan of Tasha but that was FAB-U-LOUS. What terrific styling too. Love Sing Sing Sing. Well done indeed.”

bewilderedpenguin says: “Well, that is easily my favourite Tasha dance! Absolutely gorgeous armography.”

VelvetinaB says: “Aljaz in tails doing ballroom? I am in heaven! This is truly a showdance (didn’t need the lifts at the end). She won’t win but I have really enjoyed watching Tasha dance.”

AuRun1 says: “Jaw on floor! Showdance for the ages. Aljaz looked great, Tasha was the star.”

MikeMoonlight adds: “The only thing missing from that shameless ‘Here’s your long-lost brother from Australia’ moment was Cilla Black bursting into a chorus of Surprise Surprise…’”

Some of your thoughts on the outstanding JB Gill now. Somersetlass says: “So happy to see JB and Lauren’s Viennese Waltz again, but this is even better this time. Pure joy and style. Hasn’t JB gained in confidence? What a start to the final.”

indigoviolet says: “Oh, that was gorgeous (again). Enjoyed it more without the extra dancers. Well done, JB and Lauren.”

SparklingDormouse says: “Wow! Well I’ve got a huge smile on my face now. Motown is fab and that had groove. Needed a bit more time to tidy it up but I LOVED LOVED that!”

paperview says: “The thing I love about the way JB has started dancing in these last few weeks is the way in which he can make some of those moves look like they just appeared spontaneously, rather than being learned. He just seems to enjoy all the dancing he’s doing.”

JoMK73 says: “Just loved that showdance from JB and Lauren. Gave me goosebumps. Understated, no tricks, just joy in the music and the dance. Adored it.”

Sparkleston60 adds: “Fab-u-lous. JB deserves to win – but the emotion and admiration for Chris makes it, I think, unlikely. That was a great dance.” Mewwy Cwistmas indeed.

Here’s a rapidfire round-up of your climactic comments. LazyMillennial says: “I’ll never get tired of the references to Donny ‘TEN BABY’ Osmond.”

tiredgiraffe says: ‘Really wish I’d never told the husband that Anton was ‘the Uncle Albert’ of Strictly. Every time he’s called, I hear ‘during the war…’”

whistledownthewind says: “As it’s the last show, I’ll repeat: why oh why is Craig not head judge? Entertaining, professional and he knows when to use a ten paddle. Plus I’m getting used to the beard.”

Cubana0104 says: “Strong final – everyone kept raising the game. Too busy watching to comment! But just wanted to say that Chris and Dianne’s final dance and the response to it is quite likely my TV highlight of the year. This is why I keep tuning in to Strictly. At its best, it can be truly humbling.”

Phoebe adds: “I have really enjoyed this series, more than any other I think, because we have had such great contestants who were upbeat, cheerful, optimistic and not whiny moaners about the miseries in their lives. As a consequence it has been a joyful, fun show and a pleasure to watch their astonishing (in most cases) progress and warm, friendly relationships develop.”

“The Great Unpleasantness” suddenly feels like a very long time ago. After a scandal-plagued summer, inquiries were launched, safeguarding measures were introduced and question marks were raised over the show’s future. Strictly needed a strong series to bounce back, dispel doubts and silence BBC bashers. Happily it delivered.

Helped by the heroic Chris McCausland, this proved a vintage contest. The standard was sky-high. The humour shone through. Glitz, glamour and infectious warmth radiated from the screen. It never felt too competitive, with the couples all supporting each other.

The result was crowd-pleasing primetime entertainment with not a whiff of toxicity (one alleged wandering hand aside). In its landmark 20th year, the sparkly Strictly magic remained intact. Fab-u-lous. And frankly, phew.

You’ve got to feel for our three runners-up. In many other years, they’d all have been champion. They didn’t reckon for the feelgood phenomenon that was Chris McCausland.

Pop star-turned-farmer JB Gill was arguably the one who came closest. He was the in-form dancer and only dropping a single point across three routines. He had bounced back from a dance-off fright and coped seamlessly with a mid-series change of partner when Amy Dowden withdrew with injury and Lauren Oakley stepped in. “J-Ballroom” came out of his shell, learning to love dance, relax and let go, blossoming as he did so. He can console himself that he’s the highest-scoring boyband member in Strictly history, ahead of previous winners Harry Judd and Jay McGuiness. Both his partners can take a lot of credit.

Actor Sarah Hadland would have also made a fine champion. The pocket rocket formed a firecracker partnership with reigning pro champ Vito Coppola. Her showbizzy routines were full of drama, theatricality, flawless legs and fearless lifts. They became the most consistent couple in the competition, always scoring in the high 30s and finishing near the top of the leaderboard. Along with Chris McCausland, Sarah was the only celebrity never to appear in the dance-off. She flew the flag for midlife women, dedicating her success to her fellow school gates mums, and finally notched a perfect 40 tonight. Strictly has transformed her confidence. What has she done to make herself feel proud? A helluva lot, actually.

Last but not least comes Tasha Ghouri. Technically the best dancer in the field by far – and possibly in Strictly history, said Anton Du Beke – yet she was never likely to win. The Love Island alumna, who has a cochlear implant, had too much prior dance experience and was simply too good, often looking like a professional and lacking the “journey” that voting viewers love to watch. Paired with popular returning pro Aljaž Škorjanec, Tasha was the contest’s highest scorer throughout but the fact that she’d survived the dance-off for the past two weeks showed she was lacking public support when it mattered. A shame because she was an exceptional dancer, like another Ashley Roberts. The best dancer doesn’t always win – that’s the beauty of Strictly.

Yes, it was the final. Yes, it was arguably the highest standard ever. Yes, a rousing climax was the order of the day. But did we really need quite so many 10s?

Craig Revel Horwood was the only judge to even remotely critique the routines. The other three judges just gushed and raised their 10 paddles to literally every dance. After a while, all those maximums became meaningless. Less is more, guys. You’re judges, not cheerleaders. Here endeth my Scrooge grumble.

As we all get our breath back, you can now flip to Wham! Night on BBC Two or Dame Maggie Smith: A Celebration on ITV1. At 9pm, it’s the finale of Norwegian drama State Of Happiness on BBC Four. At 9.25pm, Moonflower Murders also reaches it’s conclusion on BBC One.

If you need a film to unwind after all that glitter, tonight’s picks are The Notebook (9pm on ITVBe), The Silence of the Lambs (10.30pm on ITV4) or Mad About The Boy: The Noel Coward Story (11.20pm on BBC Four).