Strictly Come Dancing final live: Ellie and Vito announced as winners of the 2023 show

Amy Dowden thrilled Strictly viewers last night as she made a surprise appearance during the opening group number.

The professional dancer, 33, has been a staple of the BBC dance competition since she joined in 2017, and is much-loved among fans of the show.

However, Dowden did not compete in 2023’s series due to undergoing treatment for breast cancer, which included chemotherapy and a mastectomy earlier this year.

On Saturday’s (16 December) final episode, which saw actor Ellie Leach become the youngest-ever winner, Dowden delighted fans by joining in a routine with her professional colleagues.

Read the full story here:

According to Dame Esther Rantzen, musical theatre star Layton Williams should never have been a part of Strictly Come Dancing, claiming that he had an unfair advantage compared to other competitors.

“A professional dancer like the brilliant Layton Williams should never be given a role as a contestant in Strictly,” she wrote in a letter for The Telegraph. “It’s unfair to all the others, and to the viewers.”

Though he narrowly missed out on the Glitterball trophy, Layton Williams still provided many moments to remember in last night’s final.

Here’s a peek at his superb showdance with partner Nikita Kuzmin, complete with backflip – do not try at home, unless you’re brave!

The bookies’ favourite pairing Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola held the Strictly glitterball high last night, becoming the latest couple to win Strictly Come Dancing.

Former Corrie star Leach and her professional partner wowed the judges and the voting public with three routines during Saturday night’s live final, beating fellow finalists Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.

Here’s how it happened, in full:

“Lift it high!” yelled Tess and Claudia. And so she did.

That’s a wrap on the blog for tonight. Thanks so much for spending the evening with me. There were tears, there were sparkles, there were many glasses of fizz.

Have a fab rest of the night!

“I actually genuinely cannot believe this,” she gasped. The last female celebrity in the competition won it… go girl!

Cher is here, being extremely Cher, to entertain you as you cast your votes…

He and Nikita wore unforgivable purple suits (it brought to mind the Beckhams’ 1999 wedding get-ups) but we’ll let them off because they did a brilliant Tango to “Tattoo” by Loreen.

The scores were… 10, 10, 10 10. That’s a second perfect 40!

Craig is feeling a little bit grinchy this Christmas. 9, 10, 10 and 10 for Bobby and Dianne. This means Layton and Ellie both got full 40s in the final but Bobby missed out. Ah well, the scores are only for guidance anyway!