Strictly Come Dancing 2023 announces winner
After 13 iconic weeks, the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 champion is...
After 13 show-stopping weeks, just three celebrities and their professional dancers remained in the Strictly Come Dancing competition, until it was just one, as Ellie Leach was announced as the winning celebrity for 2023.
Tonight's thrilling show, saw all three finalists dance to the best of their ability all with the hopes of lifting the coveted Glitterball trophy.
The grand final saw the celebrities perform three routines: A showdance, the judges' pick and their favourite dance.
Ellie has had a truly epic time on the show and finally scored her first 40 of the series after performing her final dance.
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Over the course of the competition, Ellie found herself in the top half of the leaderboard, and things finally came to a head when Craig Revel Horwood likened her to Natasha Kaplinsky, who won the 2004 season.
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"Shame about the last lift, otherwise it was flawless, the beauty of live TV," he said of her Paso Doble to Insomnia by 2WEI.
Reacting to their win, Ellie said she "genuinely cannot believe this", revealing that it was the first time she had ever seen Vito cry.
"For once, he's crying more than me," she said. Vito praised Ellie, saying she was a "diamond" who had made him "so proud.
"You have been so amazing, you are Strictly, you represent Strictly."
There were originally 15 famous faces in the competition all raring to go and with the hope of winning the iconic competition.
Those who took part in the 2023 show included Les Dennis, Nikita Kanda, Jody Cundy CBE, Eddie Kadi, Amanda Abbington, Zara McDermott, Adam Thomas, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Angela Rippon, Angela Scanlon, Nigel Harman and Annabel Croft.
Unfortunately there were two celebrities who had to bow out of the competition early. Amanda Abbington left Strictly Come Dancing after just five weeks in the competition, and she later explained her withdrawal was due to "personal reasons".
Casualty's Nigel Harman withdrew from the competition a week before the semi-final due to an injury.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed his exit at the time: "Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly."
Read more:
- Strictly Between Us: Competition highlights and winner predictions
- Best Strictly Come Dancing gifts to buy in 2023
While the dancing show is over for another year, fans will be able to get their extra dose of Strictly soon with an extra special festive episode airing in a little over a week.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special will hit TV screens on Monday 25th December at 4:40pm, with Dan Snow, Sally Nugent, Jamie Borthwick, Tillie Amartey, Danny Cipriani and Keisha Buchanan all taking part in the festive episode.
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