Strictly Come Dancing 2014 came to an end at the weekend as viewers saw Caroline Flack crowned the winner.
It was a close fought competition with any of the final four deserving winners. As you know we’ve been getting Robin’s opinion of the show every week and he’s delivered his verdict on the final.
In our last interview of the 2014 series we talk about Caroline’s win, Simon’s journey and preview the Christmas Special.
Caroline Flack was crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2014 at the weekend. Was she the right winner?
Caroline deserved to win Strictly Come Dancing. She was absolutely fantastic in the final. She got the first perfect score ever for all of her dances in the final.
She seemed pretty surprised at the comments from the judges, all of whom said they’d work with her in the future. Do you think she has what it takes to continue with dancing?
Caroline will continue dancing. Of course she’s doing the Strictly live tour but she won’t be dancing with Pasha as he’s doing his own tour but she will be dancing with the lovely Tristan MacManus so it will be nice to see her dancing with somebody else.
Simon Webbe & Kristina Rihanoff had a great night during the final. What did you make of their performances?
I think Simon and Kristina must have come so close to pipping Caroline at the finale hurdle. Their Argentine Tango was the perfect way to finish the perfect series. I think if they’d done that Argentine Tango first they may have pipped them to the post but we’ll never know.
It was a very emotional final. Kristina was full of emotion and Simon seemed shocked he was doing so well. Why do you think they were so emotional?
I think the professional dancers have been working non-stop since August and everyone is exhausted. It’s all come to an end and it’s been such an amazing journey for everyone. I think emotions always run high in the final.
Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton had a great night too. What was your favourite dance of theirs?
I think Kevin and Frankie really improved in the final. I loved their Paso Doble. Frankie gave it some real stick and I’ve been waiting to see them from her. It was brilliant. I think everyone in the final would have been a deserving winner and everyone has worked so hard. I would have been happy for anybody to win.
Mark Wright and Karen Hauer finished in fourth place and left the competition first during the final. They seemed like the obvious choice to go first. Did you expect that?
I thought that Mark and Karen probably would be the first couple to go even though they’ve done such a great job and Mark’s come such a long way since the beginning. One of the best things about Strictly Come Dancing is watching people who’ve never danced progress from week-to-week. Mark is everything that Strictly Come Dancing is about and he’s done an amazing job and Karen’s done a great job with him. They should both be very proud of what they’ve achieved.
Let’s talk about the showdances. What was your favourite showdance of the night?
I have equal favourite showdances. I couldn’t decide between Caroline & Pasha and Simon & Kristina. They were at completely at opposite ends of the spectrum. Caroline’s was so beautiful and understated. It was nice to see a slow showdance. She performed incredibly and the relationship between Pasha and Caroline was intense. You could see the passion between them as they were dancing. With Simon & Kristina, Kristina threw everything into that dance including the kitchen sink. There was every single dance you could imagine and she used every piece of choreography she’s given Simon throughout the series just to show how good he’s become.
How does it feel for the pros and the celebs when Strictly comes to an end?
To be honest if you make it really far in the competition and it’s over, you’re just glad of a lie in (laughs). It’s a very long, hard four months. It’s all worth it just to see the results every single week but I do think when it’s over you go into Strictly withdrawals. All of a sudden there’s no rehearsals, no sparkles and everything goes really quiet but of course it’ll all kick off again on Christmas Day for the Christmas Special.
What can you tell us about this year’s Christmas special?
It’s Panto season – oh yes it is! – and everybody has a different Pantomime theme for their dance. This year it’s all about the returning celebrities and we’ve got six wonderful contestants. I’m back dancing in the arms of the wonderful Lisa Riley and it’s probably one of the campest episodes of Strictly Come Dancing you’ll ever have seen…and that’s saying something.
Fans of the show have already seen preview pictures so we know your theme is Wizard of Oz…
Our theme is The Wizard of Oz and I am dressed up as the Tin Man. Lisa is Dorothy. Even for us, it’s one of the campest things Lisa and I have ever done.
Did you manage to train without being side-tracked by too much giggling?
Being back dancing with Lisa is always filled with giggles from the beginning right through to the very end. It was fantastic. Lisa’s got such a great personality and we’re such great friends that being able to dance together one more time was such an amazing experience.
We’re days away from Christmas. What will you be doing for Christmas this year?
I’ll be spending it in London. I’ll have a few friends come over. We call it an ‘Orphan’s Christmas’ where friends who aren’t going home for Christmas all get together for a good old festive dinner.
I would just like to thank everyone at Entertainment Focus and everyone who has been following this throughout the series. It’s been absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to speak to you all again next year.
Strictly Come Dancing 2014’s Christmas Special airs at 5pm on Christmas Day. Watch Simon and Kristina’s showdance from the final below:
