Strictly Come Dancing: The Final – Live | strictly come dance

swimmer tom dean (Remember her?) In steps some pink-clad, chlorine-scented cha-cha. Just me or does he look a bit like Wallace of Gromit fame? Toyah “Anoiah” Wilcox She shakes her head and crawls here and there.

paul merson There isn’t, so they have masks on sticks.

Another traditional highlight of the final is now this year’s eliminated contestants returning for a special celebratory group number. Proper high school reunion vibes.

now a trailer for Strictly Come Dancing: 20 wonderful years – a one-off anniversary special, celebrating two decades of glorious glory and airing next Saturday. Old faces! Memorable dance! Danny Mac’s chest! Oppa Ed Balls Style!

Of course, the judges’ scoring is for guidance only. Only the public vote will decide the result. But their standing after all three dances tonight combined is as follows:

Tasha and Aljaz – 39 + 40 + 40 = 119 points

JB & Lauren – 40 + 39 + 40 = 119 points

Sara and Vito – 39 + 39 + 40 = 118 points

Chris and Dianne – 38 + 36 + 40 = 116 points

A recap of all 12 of tonight’s routines on screen now. Those celebrities will have sore feet and sequin fatigue. They’ll sleep well tonight, as Nanna used to say.

Up in the claditorium, ruth jones The In Character Voting Smallprint reader is the final VIP guest of the series. She accuses a delighted Claudia of copying her hairstyle and asks “What’s happening?” She says and screams.

For your couples’ favorite, “Team Tiramisu” is taking it to cha-cha-church again with their Madonna number from Icons Week. Luckily, a cape but no pretense like Madge at the Brit Awards. Sarah Hadland killed it by showing off her bra and jumping down the stairs into Vito Coppola’s arms. He’s wearing those black PVC fetish pants he borrowed from Anton’s Zoolander costume, not to mention his painful-looking vest-body thingy #chafing. They begin a fast, rhythmic and technically intricate party dance. Sara is getting into her character properly. Strong, courageous and dynamic. Last time Shirley wanted more fluidity and flexibility. Has he delivered it this time? Seemed a little rushed at times but poptastic and power-packed.

Song: Like the prayer of the Madonna. The notoriously provocative 1989 dance-gospel single, which featured a dream sequence of Madonna kissing an empty saint in a church. The Vatican condemned it, TV stations banned it and religious groups boycotted Pepsi, which used the song in an ad and later canceled its sponsorship deal with La Ciccone. Anyway, I always preferred other brands of cola. Yes, I mean tab.

A favorite of their duet is their spine-tingling You’ll Never Walk Alone Waltz from back in week five – the very first dance of the series we’ll see tonight. It means a lot to Chris to represent his football team and his home city. So powerful that even Everton fans loved it. Lovely rendition again from Tommy Blaze (a Liverpool fan himself). Chris has improved his posture significantly in the last two months. Footwork also strong, although dry snow hid some footwork. Rise and fall, slow and controlled with direction changes. The heart-breaking ending where he walks across the floor alone and is joined by Diane. This brought tears to Shirley’s eyes and she scored her first nine points last time out for a total of 35 points. Expect it to rise, not fall.

Song: You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers. The showtune of Carousel, which became the anthem of Liverpool FC after being recorded by the band Merseybeat in 1963 and topped the charts for four weeks.

Their doubles favorite had scored the first perfect 40 of the series only three weeks ago. It will be difficult to match it, let alone improve upon it. Moving as one in a heartfelt dance, dedicated to Aljaz Skorzenek’s young daughter Lyra. Ballroom boy Aljaz’s favorite dance is the foxtrot, so he’s in his element with these Rolls Royce steps. Dreamy, expressive and emotional, equally comfortable in or out of grip. Precise with beautiful long limbs. An impressive standing leg-flex and a spinning lift that left Tasha Ghauri dizzy last time out, partly due to her cochlear implant. He needs to expand his lines and refine his technique. He actually did it. Craig described it last time in one word (“Fab-you-loos”) and Anton cried. It just might happen again.

Song: Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi. The Glaswegian troubadour’s 2018 chart-topper, written in response to the death of his grandmother. His distant relative, actor Peter Capaldi, starred in the video. Cue Doctor Who “eyebrow attack” and Malcolm Tucker swearing.