Katrina Rees
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing has come to an end (sob), with BBC presenter Ore Oduba and his partner Joanne Clifton taking home the glitterball.
Whilst we’ve got a long wait until Strictly kicks off again, let’s take a look back at what has been a stellar series. Whilst there was some drama, including Will Young quitting the show and a dance off being cancelled for the first time in Strictly history, most of the action was saved for the dancefloor.
We’ve seen some phenomenal routines this year, and have been blessed with some of the most memorable contestants in Strictly history. Celebrities such as Ore, Danny Mac, Louise Redknapp, and Claudia Fragapane have provided us with top class dances, blowing us away with their level of technique. However, we were also truly entertained by Judge Rinder, whose enthusiasm was second to none. And who can forget the wonder that was Ed Balls? We can never unsee some of his routines (and neither would we want to).
Strictly Come Dancing 2016 has been fab-u-lous from start to finish, so here’s 10 of our moments from Series 14!
10. The contestants take to the floor for the first time
As first group dances go, we were thoroughly impressed with this year’s bunch from the start. So many of the celebrities showed a great deal of promise and it only made us more excited for the rest of the series. Oh, and we fell in love with Ed Balls, no shame.
9. Tameka Empson’s Charleston
We had high hopes for Tameka, but unfortunately the Eastenders star was voted out in week three. However, we loved her fun Charleston routine with partner Gorka. It wasn’t perfect but it exuded the fun and vibrancy which should be alive within the dance.
8. Anastacia’s rollercoaster journey
Anastacia made it to week six of the competition but had her very own rollercoaster journey throughout. She was in the bottom two in week two, but was unable to compete in the dance off due to damaging her scar tissue from her double mastectomy. This resulted in the dance off being cancelled for the first time ever, with the decision being reverted back to the public. Anastacia was saved, but found herself in the bottom two again in week four. She was saved again, and through to week five however, her partner Brendan was unable to dance due to illness so she partnered with Gorka instead. Unfortunately, her time was up in week six, but we enjoyed her performances and she put her all into it.
7. Greg Rutherford’s got the moves
Olympic medallist Greg Rutherford proved that he had moves on the dancefloor as well as on the track and field. Another contestant who didn’t quite fulfil his potential, the long jumper came seventh in the competition. He gained a fan in us during the first week when he performed an energetic Jive with partner Natalie Lowe.
6. The Pocket Rockets do the Charleston
Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane and her partner AJ Pritchard were nicknamed the Pocket Rockets. Throughout the competition, they delivered electric performances, often with brilliant tricks and lifts. Their Charleston was one of their standout performances for this reason, and even ended up with poor AJ getting pied in the face. The Pocket Rockets made it all the way to the semi-finals, where they finished in fourth place.
5. Louise and Kevin’s Argentine Tango
Louise Redknapp and her partner Kevin Clifton were the only couple to reach the Strictly Come Dancing Final without being in the bottom two. Week after week, they delivered great performances however, their highlight came in the form of their Argentine Tango in week 7, which scored them 39 points.
4. Judge Rinder’s facial expressions
Judge Rinder had the moves, that’s a certainty. Whilst his footwork wasn’t always perfect, his facial expressions were priceless and made him a standout contestant from week one. We will never be able to forget Judge Rinder’s first performance, when he danced the Cha Cha with Oksana Platero! Bursting with enthusiasm, the joy he was experiencing was quite evidently written all over his face.
3. Ore and Joanne’s jive
Ore and Joanne scored a huge 39 points in week four, with their energetic jive. Many even compared it to Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani’s iconic jive from the previous year! Whilst both routines were incredible in their own ways, this jive certainly was a turning point for Ore and Joanne. They topped the leaderboard for the first time and firmly became serious contenders. They re-danced the Jive in the final and scored a perfect 40, which helped them win the glitterball trophy!
2. Danny and Oti score the first ever 40 for a Samba
Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse scored a perfect 40 for their sizzling Samba in week 10. We could have picked a number of their routines as one of our favourites, but their Samba tore up the Strictly history book. They became the first duo ever to be awarded a perfect score for a Samba, and judging from the content, we’re not surprised! Danny and Oti were hotly tipped contenders from week one but unfortunately fell short at the final hurdle, much to the shock of some viewers. However, we’ll get to see Doti in action once again on the Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2017.
1. Ed Balls does Gangnam Style
Every year, Strictly Come Dancing produces an iconic moment. Last year, we had Jay and Aliona’s jive…this year, we had Ed Balls. The former shadow Chancellor’s involvement in the show was widely ridiculed from the off, and whilst he did have two left feet a lot of the time, he threw himself into the Strictly experience and provided us with some incredibly entertaining dances.
Again, we could have made a list consisting entirely of our favourite Ed dances, however, there is one in particular that will remain in our minds until the end of time – Ed and Katya Jones’ Salsa to ‘Gangnam Style’. Yep, you read correctly. Ed took on the notorious Psy track and delivered an infamously iconic routine that will go down in Strictly history. We don’t even know where to begin – we were genuinely shocked at some of the intricate lifts and movements. If you haven’t already witnessed the glory, please go right ahead below. We insist!
