This year’s Strictly Come Dancing has seen some sensational hoofing, and shocking voting patterns. Viewers ditched chest-exposing favourite Peter Andre in week 10, and the graceful goddess that is Helen George lost a dance-off against Georgia May Foote. Oh, and the nation decided to dislike Jamelia. If she was in I’m a Celebrity, Jamelia would be the one getting her fill of kangaroo scrotum every night.
So now only four couples remain and, right now, they’re probably being spray-tanned to within an inch of their lives in preparation for this weekend’s final. It’s going to be the perfect festive telly event, but who should win? Alas, the answer’s not Jeremy Vine, because the brave ambassador for dad moves was voted off weeks ago. Here’s who’s left – and dancing for their lives.
Georgia May Foote
First, the important business: Georgia and Giovanni make such a pretty couple, pitching their dances just the right side of sexy for a BBC1 early Saturday evening. They’ve been consistent performers all the way through the competition and topped the leaderboard with their American Smooth. Georgia channels the sort of attitude into her dances that her Coronation Street character, Katy, would be proud of and she has one hell of a pasodoble face on her.
Jay McGuiness
Hello, winner. Harry Judd from McFly set a precedent for a boyband victory back in 2011 and, like Jay, he was partnered with the rather fabulous Aliona. Jay was a bag of nerves at the beginning of the competition, but he and Aliona have the kind of chemistry you can’t fake, and they impressed the judges with their Pulp Fiction jive, not to mention a powerful tango to Prince’s When Doves Cry. Lest anyone forgets, this man cut his hair for Strictly. Hot favourite and ripe to lift the glitterball, he could go on to build himself a career outside that boyband that no one’s really heard of. (The Wanted, fact fans.)
Kellie Bright
There’s something lovable about Kellie and the judges tend to agree. She and Kevin from Grimsby are the couple who saw the mighty Andre off, and Kellie’s been on a proper Strictly “journey”, improving as she survives each week. Much fun has been had with costumes as well as choreography, but the EastEnders star also has the skills to back it up. Week after week, she and Kev have worked like troupers and if the sight of Danny Dyer watching ballroom dancing hasn’t helped push them over the finish line, maybe a timely Star Wars Charleston will.
Katie Derham
If there’s a dark horse of the competition at this stage, Katie “Hotlegs” Derham is most certainly it. OK, she’s not quite Reggie N Bollie, but if you’d have told her when she set sail on the good ship Strictly that she’d end up in the final, she may not have believed you. Katie’s a rare breed of finalist: she didn’t put in the groundwork at stage school but is clearly loving her newly discovered dancing skills. Katie and Anton du Beke finished bottom of the leaderboard in the semis, but still had enough votes to kick Anita Rani out of the competition. Her suave and capable partner has never been in the final, despite dancing on Strictly for 11 years. If only they could lift that glitterball trophy now.
