Strictly Come Dancing final: 5 talking points, from Stacey Dooley's win to the return of Danny John Jules
Out of four finalists, it was Dooley and her partner Kevin Clifton that came out on top, despite Craig Revel Horwood's refusal to give her a ten for her showdance
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Your support makes all the difference.So there we have it, Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton are your Strictly champions for 2018! They were bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, but the audience didn’t care. On this show, if you don’t have a journey you’ve got no chance of glitterball glory. Here’s what happened:
Kevin turned into Brendan Cole
The stakes were high for Grimsby’s finest Kevin Clifton. This was his fifth Strictly final and he was fed up of coming a close second. So perhaps that’s why he got so stroppy with Craig when he refused to give them a ten and poured scorn on Kev’s showdance choreography. ‘He does this to me in every final!’ moaned Kevin as Craig dismissed his masterpiece as ‘lots of running around’. Ouch.
The showdances!
The highlight of any Strictly final, amid all of the strung-out VTs and voting reminders, it’s the showdances we tune in to see. Faye’s was by far the best – an old school Hollywood number with glamorous, cinematic choreography. It oozed showbiz and Faye sparkled.
Joe’s attempt to be a rock and roller wasn’t quite as successful (although his trampolining was good) and Ashley’s contemporary routine was technically amazing but hardly a crowd pleaser. Stacey’s energetic jive-based number was full of commitment but it split the judges. Clearly it was enough to make people vote though.
Great dancing won’t win the glitterball
Ashley faced the dance-off for three weeks in a row and did her best to ignore a huge backlash about her dance background. Tonight, both she and Faye produced clean show-stopping performances, scoring a perfect 120 out of 120. But it wasn’t enough. Alas, it’s not just about the dancing ladies, but you did yourselves proud.
Look who’s back!
Let’s face it, Strictly is on telly for a long, long time every year. So it’s easy to forget who graced that dance floor until they reunite for a special nostalgic routine in the final. It was great to see Danny John Jules put his ‘show must go on’ smile on after boycotting It Takes Two when he got eliminated. And nobody batted an eyelid when erstwhile national villain Sean(n) Walsh recreated his Matrix number. Dr Ranj was great fun, Susannah brought back her ridiculous props and it was great fun to get the gang back together.
Naughty Brrrruno
Yet again Brrrruno said a naughty word on telly as he tried to talk about Stacey’s ‘Greatest Hits’. To be fair, it’s quite a minor slip-up for Mr Tonioli, he’s said a lot worse. The judges were falling over themselves to praise the contestants tonight, although for once Bruno didn’t actually fall off his chair.
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Brrrrruno loved everything so much he's lost the power of speech - Alan Carr is cackling away over the other side of the studio. Craig says he wasn't that keen on the dance, says there was too much running around and it didn't work. Kevin is outraged, but I'm afraid I can definitely see where he's coming from. Darcey is doing a Minions impression. Only on Strictly.
Stacey and Kevin: Showdance scores
Craig: 8
Darcey: 9
Shirley: 9
Bruno: 10
Total: 36
A great score in general, but not for a show dance. Kevin will be secretly furious about that, he really thought this showdance was going to storm it.
Time for Faye and Giovanni with an old school, big-band, razzle dazzle number. This is exactly the kind of showdance that wins finals - Ore Oduba and Tom Chambers were both underdogs who went full on showbiz and then snuck the glitterball out from under their rivals' noses. Go on Faye, cause an upset.
Obviously I am gutted they're not dancing to Tragedy, but wow this is amazing . A classic Strictly moment, such grace and glamour, it's oozing Hollywood charisma and charm. Lots of exciting highlights, the perfect showdance for a Strictly superfan like Faye to finish on.
That cheered Craig up, 'fab-u-lous!' he barks. Darcey calls it a sophisticated, brilliant dream routine and Shirley says they brought Broadway to Strictly and compliments Gio on the choreography. Brrrrruno is unsurprisingly delighted with it all. Perfect.
Faye and Giovanni: Showdance scores
Craig: 10
Darcey: 10
Shirley: 10
Bruno: 10
Total: 40
'That dance was what Strictly is all about to me, it was amazing!' beams Faye.
Last but not least, the final showdance, it's Joe and Dianne. They're dancing to the Arctic Monkeys, who will surely sue the show after they hear the house singers attempt to perform their song. Dianne calls it ‘risky, rocky Fred Astaire' and says it’s so fast they don’t have a minute to breathe. They're even referencing Lindyhop.... brave.
Two words for this dance: air guitar. There was a caterpillar, lots of running around and the kind of things you do in front of your bedroom mirror when a rock song comes on. It got much better once they were in hold, but the whole thing is too frenetic and lacks finesse. Crowd pleasing but messy. It's a Marmite moment.
Darcey doesn't quite know what to say, she says a wild beast was unleashed. No. She thought it was clean and generally great. Shirley says it was absolutely brilliant and Brrrrruno says he likes a bad boy. But back to the dancing. Craig enjoyed it too, which is a real turn up for the books.
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