The Strictly Come Dancing live final continued with a second show tonight and the first couple left the dancefloor at the beginning of the show.
Finishing in fourth place was Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her dance partner Brendan Cole. They received the fewest votes from the public which meant they were automatically eliminated. Susanna Reid, Abbey Clancy and Natalie Gumede were left to battle it out for the leaderboard.
First to dance again for the Glitterball Trophy was Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton. They chose to dance their Paso Doble again after blowing away the judges and the audience in Blackpool. Could the recreate the magic of their dance once again?
Len said he thought Susanna was full of ‘energy and attack’ and said he loved it. Bruno called Susanna a ‘drama queen’ and said she danced for her life. Craig joked that there were lots of faults before telling Susanna it was a ‘powerhouse of a performance’. Darcey said Susanna came out on top with her final dance.
Susanna and Kevin scored 39 out of 40 from the judges.
The second to dance again was Abbey Clancy and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec. In her intro VT Abbey admitted her lowest point was landing in the bottom two during Halloween week. She said that Aljaz has made her experience amazing and admits she couldn’t have imagined she’d do so well. For their dance they picked the Quickstep. Did they walk on sunshine for the final?
Bruno said it was ‘dazzling in its brilliance’ and told them the content was the best they’ve seen on Strictly. Craig said Abbey and Aljaz were brave to do the routine after he slated it in Blackpool but admitted it was better second time around. Darcey said Abbey ‘floated’ on sunshine calling the routine a joy to watch. Len said Abbey was ‘top of the league’ but pointed out there was an error at the end.
Abbey and Aljaz scored 38 out of 40 from the judges.
Last to dance tonight was Natalie Gumede and her partner Artem Chigvintsev. In her intro VT Natalie said she was thrilled to be taking part in the show after being a fan for years. Artem admitted that having Natalie as a partner has allowed him to do what he wants with the choreography. For their final dance Natalie and Artem selected the American Smooth. Did they do enough to win the show?
Craig said everything came together in the performance and told Natalie he bowed down to her. Darcey said the dance was ‘intense’ and complimented the way Natalie and Artem mirror each other. Len said Natalie’s performance was ‘beyond stunning’ and admitted his previous critique about the routine was about Artem’s choreography. Bruno said the dance is one of his highlights from any series of Strictly and Dancing with the Stars he’s done. High praise!
Natalie and Artem scored 40 out of 40 from the judges.
The leaderboard for the second show tonight was:
Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev – 40
Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton – 39
Abbey Clancy and Aljaz Skorjanec – 38
Whilst the lines stayed open for votes, Robbie Williams stopped by to perform Puttin’ On The Ritz whilst the Strictly pros danced another stunning routine.
All of the celebrities from the series reunited with their pro partners for a superb group dance before the winner of this year’s series was announced.
Who was going to pick up that Glitterball trophy? We’ll find out very soon…
