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Watch: Moment winners of Strictly Come Dancing 2023 announced
Actress Ellie Leach has been crowned this year’s Strictly Come Dancing champion on BBC One.
The former Coronation Street actress beat EastEnders’ Bobby Brazier and Bad Education star Layton Williams to lift the glitterball trophy in Saturday’s live final.
This year’s line-up were the show’s youngest trio of finalists ever.
Ellie, 22, who was the bookmakers’ favourite to win, performed three dances with partner Vito Coppola.
As usual, one of the dances in the grand finale was chosen by the judges, one was their own favourite dance from the series, and the other was a show dance.
The judges gave advisory scores but the public made the final decision.
After Ellie and Vito danced a routine set to Ain’t That A Kick In The Head by Robbie Williams, they were awarded 40 points.
They also performed their paso doble routine again while their show dance was a Jennifer Lopez megamix.
Praising their dance, head judge Shirley Ballas told Ellie: “You, my dear, are the only lady standing and let me tell you, you came down those stairs, you worked that dress, the whole ensemble… was spot on.”
They faced stiff competition from the other remaining couples – Layton and Nikita Kuzmin, and Bobby and Dianne Buswell – who also took to the dancefloor for one last time.
Layton and Nikita topped the leaderboard, scoring 119, followed by Bobby and Dianne with 117 and Ellie and Vito at 115.
But after twelve weeks of tangos, salsas and foxtrots, this was Ellie and Vito’s night.
Reacting to their win, Ellie said she “genuinely cannot believe this” – it was the first time she had seen Vito cry.
“For once, he’s crying more than me,” she said. Turning to her dance partner, she added: “This is for you.”
Vito, who won the contest for the first time, told Ellie: “You are Strictly… I’m so proud.”
Other highlights of Saturday’s show included a performance by megastar Cher.
The Strictly professionals performed the opening dance number, dressed in black and white, with Amy Dowden also involved.
Dowden, 33, was not able to have a star partner this year due to her diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer.
The entire line-up of 2023 also came back for one more routine.
Former tennis player Annabel Croft missed out on a place in the final after she and her partner Johannes Radebe were eliminated last weekend.
She had gone head-to-head with Brazier in the dance-off, but the judges voted to save the actor.
Who were the finalists?
EastEnders actor and model Bobby Brazier, son of the late Big Brother star Jade Goody, plays Freddie Slater in the BBC soap.
Away from Walford, Bobby has modelled for the major fashion house Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week.
The 20-year-old was partnered with Dianne Buswell, who he has said certainly taught him a thing or two. In week 10, the pair received a standing ovation when Brazier dedicated the dance to his mother.
Ellie Leach, 22, is best known for her 12 years playing Faye Windass on ITV soap Coronation Street.
She has been nominated for multiple British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards for her role in hard-hitting storylines, which have included falling pregnant at 13 and later reconnecting with the child she gave up.
Ellie, who was partnered with Vito Coppola on Strictly, has described the experience as “life-changing” and totally different to her experience filming Corrie.
Layton Williams has performed in London’s West End in Billy Elliot, Thriller Live and Everyone’s Talking About Jamie. He has also appeared in TV series Bad Education and I Hate Suzie.
The actor, 29, most recently provided the voiceover for the BBC Three gay dating show I Kissed A Boy.
He was paired with Nikita Kuzmin, and has said that dancing in a same-sex couple was “pushing a boundary”.
“That is just my norm, but it’s not everyone’s norm,” he said.
This year’s series – the BBC dance show’s 21st – began in September with 15 celebrities in the running including actor and entertainer Les Dennis and Rip-Off Britain presenter Angela Rippon.
Casualty star Nigel Harman, Paralympian Jody Cundy, Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington and Channel 4 anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy also appeared on the show.
In October, Abbington withdrew from Strictly, citing “personal reasons”. Earlier this month, Harman also pulled out of the show following an injury.
The series was judged by Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.
In last year’s competition, presenter Hamza Yassin was crowned winner alongside his dance partner Jowita Przystal.
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