Strictly final live: Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell win Glitterball Trophy in tear-jerking finale
The comedian took home the glitterball trophy after reducing all the judges to tears with his emotional final performances
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing 2024 has been won by Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell,
The pair were vying against Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Tasha Ghouri dancing with Aljaž Škorjanec and JB Gill and his pro partner Lauren Oakley in Saturday night’s grand final.
McCausland was a firm favourite to win, and is now the first blind contestant to become a Strictly champion.
The comedian’s first two dances of the night had an emotional impact, as judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas were left in tears.
And his third caused even more sobbing. McCausland and Buswell were both in tears at the end of their routine — a performance of their Waltz to “You Never Walk Alone.” Buswell’s parents in the audience were also crying, along with the panel and seemingly everyone in the Clauditorium.
Prior to the live final, McCausland is reported to have faced a last-minute change of plan as his parents couldn’t travel to Hertfordshire to support him due to illness.
His mother Valerie had caught the flu, and was unable to travel from their home in Liverpool to the Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, where the live final took place. McCausland’s father, John, told The Daily Mail he would be remaining at home to look after her.
Ahead of the final, McCausland’s dance partner Buswell broke down in tears when she was shown a clip of McCausland’s dancing journey on It Takes Two, and she praised him for being “the most honest man I’ve ever met”.
In tonight’s final, the couples danced three numbers each: a judge’s pick, a show dance and the couple’s favourite dance from the series.
JB’s sensational show dance
JB always looks like he’s having the best time, and this show dance is no different.
It’s a properly fun routine to a Motown medley, complete with different dance styles and stunning lifts (as we’ve come to expect from show dances). Bravo!
JB is first up with his show dance
Tonight’s live show will have more VTs and comedic bits than in previous episodes, mainly because there are more costume and set changes to allow for.
JB’s show dance is being preceeded by a lovely VT, which includes him reflecting on having two partners during the course of the show.
“I owe them both an incredible debt of gratitude,” he said of Amy Dowden and Lauren Oakley, who replaced her friend after injury. “Amy and Lauren are more than just dance teachers. They’ve helped to establish a love of dancing.”
Voting is now open
The voting usually opens at the end of each Saturday’s live show, but as the winner will be announced tonight, you can vote during the episode.
And as it’s the final, if you’re voting online then you get six votes to cast (so you can split them between your fave pairs if you’re feeling indecisive).
Sarah’s scores are in...
It’s a 9 from Craig, and 10s from Motsi, Shirley and Anton, for a total of 39.
Vito has a wardrobe issue
Well... his trousers appear to have broken. Vito is now holding them together at the top, in order to preserve his modesty.
“There might be a malfunction with the trousers but there wasn’t one with the dance,” Shirley quipped.
Sarah delivers a beautiful American Smooth
Their week eight performance of this routine won a total of 33 points, so there's a decent amount of room for improvement here.
Just like the other finalists, Sarah looks even more confident and at ease on the dancefloor this week. Maybe it’s the fact the judges’ scores are just guides for viewers? Whatever the reason, it’s fantastic.
Those lifts were beautiful and the transitions into and out of them were even smoother this time around. Sarah has defintely done a lot to make herself proud.
Sarah receives a training room visit from Shirley
Sarah and Vito’s Judges’ Pick is their American Smooth and they’ve received the news with a visit from head judge Shirley Ballas.
“It couldn’t be better for me that Shirley walked through that door,” Sarah said.
The head judge explained: “The reason why we’ve picked this dance for you is we see so much potential.”
Chris’s scores are in...
He received a 33 for this routine first time around — and now he’s landed a 38.
That was thanks to an 8 from Craig, 10s from Motsi, Shirley and 10.
Chris brings the joy
I know we’re only half an hour in but is anyone else feeling a bit overwhelmed? All of the celebs seem to have relaxed into their routines this week, and Chris did a phenomenal job.
You can see the joy on his face, which is just brilliant. And like Tasha and JB, he definitely improved that routine second time around.
Craig told them: “You took the notes so thank you for that. The transitions were a lot smoother.”
Motsi is in tears, which makes me feel a lot better. “All the 300 hours [putting make-up] on my face is for nothing,” she quipped.
Chris and Craig bond in the training room
The Judges’ Pick for Chris and Dianne is their Couple’s Favourite to “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)” by John Lennon, which scored them 33 back in week eight.
And in a lovely move, it was Craig who delivered the news to the pair. Chris and Craig have had such brilliant banter throughout the series and it’s lovely to see them in the rehearsal room together.
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