The Strictly Come Dancing final is upon us, as four couples are taking to the dancefloor one last time tonight.
Those vying for the glitterball trophy are Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell, Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Tasha Ghouri dancing with Aljaž Škorjanec and JB Gill and his pro partner Lauren Oakley.
McCausland is a firm favourite to win, and if he does take home the glitterball trophy tonight, it will make him the first blind contestant to become a Strictly champion.
However, the comedian is reported to have faced a last-minute change of plan as his parents cannot travel to Hertfordshire to support him in the final, due to illness.
His mother Valerie has caught the flu, and will be unable to travel from their home in Liverpool to the Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, where the live episode will be filmed. McCausland’s father, John, told The Daily Mail that he will 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 are dancing three numbers each: a judge’s pick, a show dance and the couple’s favourite dance from the series.
The Strictly Come Dancing final will air at 6pm on BBC One. Find the full list of songs and dances below.
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.