After 13 weeks of tough competition, this year’s Strictly Come Dancing winner has been crowned.
BBC presenter Ore Oduba was announced as the winner, beating former Hollyoaks star Danny Mac and singer/presenter Louise Redknapp to take home the glitterball trophy.
Ore and his dance partner Joanne Clifton went into tonight’s competition as the underdogs, ranking as an outsider in terms of the bookies’ odds. However, they impressed the judges and landed at the top of the leaderboard, scoring a near perfect 119 out of 120 across three dances, including two scores of 40 for their showdance and jive.
Danny and his partner Oti Mabuse were the bookies’ favourites, and scored 116 overall. After a shaky start with their quickstep, they too scored a perfect 40 for their next dances, the showdance and their electric samba.
Louise and her partner Kevin Clifton also scored 116 points overall. The pair scored 36 points a piece for their first two dances, before claiming 40 points for their final dance, the Argentine Tango.
Despite the leaderboard merely being a guide during this evening’s show, it seems that the public agreed with the judges, voting Ore and Joanne as this year’s champions.
Clearly overwhelmed by the result, Ore described the win as “the most incredible experience of my life”. Joanne told him, “You’ve become a dancer. You’re a dancer.” Ore and Joanne are the first winners to take the glitterball, despite landing in the bottom two twice in previous weeks.
"You're a dancer. You've become a dancer!" Well done, #Strictly Champions 2016 @OreOduba and @joanneclifton! ? https://t.co/GTCzhcqkpD
— BBC Strictly ? (@bbcstrictly) December 17, 2016
Tonight’s final was emotion-filled for another reason too. Earlier this year, head judge Len Goodman announced that this series would be his last. The judges and contestants bid a fond farewell to the iconic Strictly star during the show, with Len stating that he “will miss everything about the show.”