Stars prepare to battle for glitterball trophy

After weeks of intense competition, the Strictly Come Dancing finalists are preparing to hit the dance floor one last time.

Of the 15 pairs at the start of the series, only three pairs remain; Celebrities Amber Davies, George Clarke and Karen Carney compete to get their hands on the sparkly ball trophy.

This will also be the last time Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman present the Strictly final. The duo was announced they would resign at the end of the current series.

The grand final will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer from 19:00 GMT on Saturday.

One of the most talked about topics leading up to the final was whether Amber Davies’ performance history gave her an unfair advantage.

Love Island star faced backlash on the internet People note that she has appeared in West End musicals Pretty Woman, 9 to 5: The Musical and The Great Gatsby, and competed in the 16th series of Dancing on Ice.

He told BBC News and other reporters at the Strictly press conference this week that he could “appreciate” where the comments were coming from.

“I have experience compared to these two,” he said, pointing to the other finalists. “I’m not shy about that. But I can say that love actually trumps hate.”

When asked if he deserved to win, the actor with Nikita Kuzmin said: “I feel like I worked as hard as these guys who got to the final because I had to fight to get to the final.” he said.

This reaction is perhaps symptomatic of a wider theme in Strictly; over the years some viewers seem to form their own judgments about the contestants regardless of what the judges think or what the general audience votes say.

Earlier in this series Lewis Cope had come under fire for being a child actor in Billy Elliot, for example, and last year JB Gill had come under fire for previously dancing in the boy band JLS.

Many viewers seem to value the element of surprise, or beating the odds, such as when Strictly’s first blind contestant Chris McCausland won last year.

For Karen Carney, becoming the first footballer to reach the Strictly Come Dancing final is “strange” but also “really very proud”.

“I can’t believe a football player is in the final,” he said at the press conference.

The former Lioness, who is partnered by Carlos Gu, said she has struggled with her self-confidence in recent years, but added: “I always knew in my heart that this would definitely be the thing that would fix me… This is the happiest thing I’ve ever been.”

Getting to this point in the competition has been “mental,” according to social media star George Clarke.

“This is a completely different world than what I’m used to,” he said.

Another online star, AngryGinge, recently crowned king of the jungle This year’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! This opens up the possibility of two social media stars winning two of the biggest shows on television.

“I think this is a demographic that’s been very untouched in mainstream TV,” said Clarke, who is partnered with Alexis Warr.

Finalists will perform three routines: They will revisit a previous routine, perform a demonstration dance, and then take the stage with their favorite dance from the series.

Here’s what they’ll dance to:

Amber and Nikita

• Demonstration Dance of Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
• Judge’s Choice – Aerosmith’s Paso Doble Will Dream
• Favorite Dance – Jive to Proud Mary

George and Alexis

• Performance Dance from The Killers to Humanity
• Jury’s Choice – Viennese Waltz from the Queen to Someone to Love
• Favorite Dance – From Ruelle’s Paso Doble to Game of Survival

Karen and Carlos

• Performance Dance from Texas to Inner Smile
• Judge’s Choice – Argentinian Tango to the Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Favorite Dance – One Way or Another Jive by Blondie

Other highlights of the show will include a group routine featuring professional dancers and this year’s finalists.

The 2025 cast will return to the dance floor one last time, although BBC News understands Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner will not be attending.

The grand final of Strictly Come Dancing 2025 is on BBC One and iPlayer this Saturday at 19:00 GMT.

It will also be available to watch on the live page on the BBC News website.

There will also be many developments on the live page ahead of the show; There will also be extra information about the dances, outfits, judges’ comments and much more.

This year, Strictly has moved to online-only voting.

While the voting is open, head over there this website To make up your mind!

As with every finale, all of us in the house have the power to decide the winner.

The judges will give their scores, but these will be for guidance only and will not be combined with audience votes.

Warning: The following episode contains spoilers from last week’s Strictly.

As you would expect from the semi-final, the standards were incredibly high last week.

Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin maintained their perfect score for the third week in a row, while Karen Carney’s Waltz left judge Anton Du Beke “a bit emotional” while George Clarke wowed the judges with his hip movements.

In the end, Balvinder Sopal and Caillon left the competition after their dance-off against Davies and Kuzmin on Sunday night.

In October, we received the shock announcement from Daly and Winkleman that they would be stepping down at the end of this year’s series.

Here’s what the famous contestants told me later: This news surprised them too. “Nobody saw it coming,” said one.

Daly has been presenting since the first series 21 years ago. Winkleman joined in 2014, having hosted Strictly’s sister show It Takes Two since 2004.

This Saturday will be their last presentation of the Strictly final. Speaking on Strictly’s sister show It Takes Two last week, the pair admitted they might feel “emotional” after the show.

Their last appearance on the show will be the Christmas special, which will air on December 25.

There have been many surprises and turns in the 21st year of the series.

But the show was also mired in controversy.

in NovemberIt has been revealed that an unnamed star from Strictly has been arrested on suspicion of rape. It comes after another man was arrested after appearing on the popular BBC dance show on suspicion of rape in August.

It is understood that neither development is related to the current series of Strictly.

It comes after a difficult few years for the show, with some former celebrity contestants speaking out about their negative experiences on Strictly.

Last year, the company introduced new duty of care measures, including having chaperones at rehearsals.