Strictly Come Dancing 2023: Winner of glitterball trophy announced
Check out: The moment the victors of Strictly Come Dancing 2023 are revealed
The winner of this year's Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One is Ellie Leach, who is an actress.
On Saturday's live final, the ex-star of Coronation Street emerged victorious over Layton Williams, the star of Bad Education, and Bobby Brazier from EastEnders, taking home the glitterball trophy.
The finalists of this year's show were the youngest trio in the history of the program.
Ellie, who is 22 years old and was predicted to win by the bookies, completed a total of three dance routines alongside her partner, Vito Coppola.
Typically, the judges picked one of the dances for the big finale, they selected their preferred dance from the entire series, and then there was a spectacular show dance.
The panel of judges provided evaluative ratings, but it was ultimately up to the general audience to make the ultimate call.
Ellie and Vito received a score of 40 points after performing a dance routine to the song Ain't That A Kick In The Head by Robbie Williams.
Furthermore, they executed their paso doble performance once more in addition to their show dance which contained a medley of Jennifer Lopez songs.
Complimenting Ellie's dance performance, Shirley Ballas, the main judge, exclaimed, "Ellie, my dear, you're the only female contestant left in the show and I must say, you did a great job with your dress and the entire outfit. You looked flawless walking down the stairs and your dance moves were impeccable."
The other couples who were still competing - Layton and Nikita Kuzmin, as well as Bobby and Dianne Buswell - also performed their final dances. These couples provided challenging competition to the pair in question.
The positions of first, second, and third place on the leaderboard were claimed by Layton and Nikita, who gained a total score of 119. Bobby and Dianne were positioned in second place, scoring 117. Ellie and Vito landed in third place, earning a score of 115.
After practicing for twelve weeks, performing tangos, salsas, and foxtrots, Ellie and Vito finally had their moment to shine in the spotlight.
Ellie expressed her disbelief in winning, stating that she couldn't believe it. This caused an emotional reaction from Vito, as she had never observed him crying before.
She exclaimed that this time, he was shedding more tears than her. After that, she directed her attention to her dance companion and said: "I'm dedicating this performance to you."
Vito, who emerged as the winner for the initial time, expressed to Ellie: "You are Strictly... I feel extremely gratified."
. The young TV personality emerged as the winner over two other pairs - Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, as well as Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.
Another noteworthy moment from the Saturday show was when legendary superstar Cher took to the stage to perform.
The dancers who are part of Strictly performed the initial dance routine which had them wearing black and white attires with participation from Amy Dowden.
Because of her breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, Dowden, who is 33 years old, was not able to dance with a celebrity partner this year.
All the performers scheduled for 2023 returned for an additional performance.
Annabel Croft, a retired tennis player, failed to secure a spot in the final round when she and her dancing partner Johannes Radebe were sent home last weekend.
She had a dance-off with Brazier, but the judges chose to save the actor instead.
Who Made It To The Finals?
Bobby Brazier, who is an EastEnders actor and a model, is portraying the role of Freddie Slater in the famous BBC soap opera. He is also the son of the former Big Brother celebrity, Jade Goody.
Out of Walford, Bobby has worked as a model for the popular fashion brand, Dolce & Gabbana, in the event Milan Fashion Week.
A 20-year-old guy was paired with Dianne Buswell, who he says has taught him a lot. On week 10, they got a standing ovation when he dedicated the dance to his mom.
Ellie Leach, who is 22 years old, gained fame for portraying Faye Windass in the popular ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, for 12 years.
Her portrayal of challenging storylines has earned her several nominations for both British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards. These storylines have explored issues such as teenage pregnancy and reuniting with a child she had given up.
According to Ellie's account, working with Vito Coppola on Strictly was transformative and vastly distinct from her time shooting Corrie. She even went as far as to call it a pivotal moment in her life.
Layton Williams is an accomplished performer who has graced the stage in London's West End in various productions like Billy Elliot, Thriller Live, and Everyone's Talking About Jamie. Additionally, he's had roles on popular TV shows such as Bad Education and I Hate Suzie.
The 29-year-old performer lately contributed with his voice to the BBC Three program about gay dating called I Kissed A Boy.
He was partnered with Nikita Kuzmin, and remarked that dancing in a same-gender partnership was "challenging a limit".
"That's just how I usually do things, but it's not necessarily the way everyone else does it," he remarked.
The latest edition of the BBC dance competition, which marked its 21st season, kicked off in September with a total of 15 famous contestants. These included Les Dennis, an actor and entertainer, as well as Angela Rippon, a presenter for the program "Rip-Off Britain".
The show included appearances from Nigel Harman who stars in Casualty, Paralympian Jody Cundy, Amanda Abbington who acted in Sherlock, and Krishnan Guru-Murthy who is an anchor for Channel 4.
During the month of October, Abbington decided to leave Strictly due to unspecified "personal reasons". Recently, Harman had to quit the show because of an injury.
The show was overseen by Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse.
Hamza Yassin and his dance partner Jowita Przystal were declared champions in the previous year's contest.
