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.
Tasha’s scores are in...
She’s landed 39! Yes, it was Craig who scored the routine with a 9.
‘Possibly the best dancer we’ve ever seen'
“I think that was beautiful,” said Motsi. “Being able to be as skilled as you and having that freedom, making that look easy... it’s really tough. You have that grace, you have star quality.”
Shirley added: “Such a magically musical body. There’s not a part of you that doesn’t dance to the music. Fabulous.”
“I’ve written so much to say... could you be the best dance we’ve ever had on Strictly? Possibly,” said Anton.
Craig concluded: “You have the most amazing extension, the most incredible elevation and beautiful placement of feet. It was stunning.
Tasha’s Couple’s Choice is just as stunning second time around
The standards are seriously high tonight, aren’t they? That was just as beautiful as when they performed it for the first time and the pair looked even more confident in their lifts, which was a hugely noticeable improvement. Surely Craig won’t be able to find any faults in that?
Tasha and Aljaz redo their Couple’s Choice
Of all the finalists, Tasha is the contestant whose Judges’ Pick and Couple’s Favourite scored highest first time around.
The judges have asked her and Aljaz to perform their Couple’s Choice to P!nk’s “What About Us” again, with Motsi delivering the news and giving them some last-minute tips.
Last time, Craig was the only judge who didn’t score the routine with a 10. Could he hand out his 101st 10 to Tasha?
Craig’s 100th 10
The judge has been invited up to the Clauditorium, where he’s been congratulated for finally awarding his 100th 10, having judged 22 series of Strictly.
“Anton did it in about six weeks,” quipped Claudia Winkleman.
JB’s scores are in...
And he’s set the bar as high as you possibly can! JB and Lauren have been awarded 40 points.
Judges heap praise on JB
“Happy? I’m delighted! It was amazing,” said Anton. “It was better than before. There was more sway, your headline improved. The pivots! I know you’ve got three dances tonight but I’d like to see that three times.”
Craig said: “I’m not happy... I couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Grace, elegant, quality.”
“You were light, you were flying,” said Motsi. “Then in your solo parts, you shined. That is how you start a Strictly final.”
Shirley was similarly positive, telling JB: “Well done, you.”
I think we’re heading for that 40!
JB opens the show
And what a way to do it. This routine was practically perfect the first time they performed it and that was great, if not better.
Last time around, they scored a 39 with (yes you guessed it) Craig being the only judge not to give them a 10. Will he be convinced to this time around? I hope so!
JB and Lauren to perform Mary Poppins routine
For their Judges’ Pick, JB and Lauren are performing their Viennese Waltz to “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” from Mary Poppins, which they closed the quarter-finals with just a few weeks ago.
In each pair’s first VT, we’ll see a judge going to tell them which routine they’ve picked and these two have received a visit from Anton, who has stuck around to help out with choreography.
Strictly pros open the show
The professionals are showing us how it’s done — and Amy Dowden is among them! What a joy to see her back on the dancefloor again.
This year’s four finalists then joined their partners for a dance, and it unexpectedly felt quite emotional seeing them all there?! What a fabulous final four.
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