Strictly Come Dancing 2023. The Final. Discussion Thread. Saturday 16th December.

[Kate!]

We've reached the final. Who will lift the glitterball?

Leyton, Ellie or Bobby?

[joeysteele]

Really, they are all strong finalists.
I've liked Ellie all through.

However I really would be over the moon with whoever wins this now.
It's been a strong if not the strongest series this one.

They've all worked really hard and entertained throughout.

I'll watch their dances in the final then decide where my votes go or if I split votes.

Bobby, has a natural flair as to dance, he always looks good.
I've liked his style.

Ellie is the surprise as to how good she really is.
She has taken on board the routines and excelled.

Layton has delivered superbly all asked of him by Nikita.
He is an awesome dancer.

Good luck to them all and frankly whoever wins I will be happy.
This is one of the strongest ever 3 finalists in Strictly in my view.

[Nicky91]

Really, they are all strong finalists.
I've liked Ellie all through.

However I really would be over the moon with whoever wins this now.
It's been a strong if not the strongest series this one.

They've all worked really hard and entertained throughout.

I'll watch their dances in the final then decide where my votes go or if I split votes.

Bobby, has a natural flair as to dance, he always looks good.
I've liked his style.

Ellie is the surprise as to how good she really is.
She has taken on board the routines and excelled.

Layton has delivered superbly all asked of him by Nikita.
He is an awesome dancer.

Good luck to them all and frankly whoever wins I will be happy.
This is one of the strongest ever 3 finalists in Strictly in my view.

yeah because in Abbey's year we had 4 strong finalists tbh


the ultimate MILF to have ever entered this show, still robbed kinda Susanna Reid :love: or Natalie Gumede whom was super robbed according to many fans

and not to forget about Sophie & Brenda

[Nicky91]

8nEbR_z6SKQ

[millyrose]

I think it's hard to call they are all good in there own way, it will be close and i wouldn't be surprised with any of them winning, good luck to all 3

[Nicky91]

it'll deffo be a very strong final for sure


only 1 can be the winner (my nations tv icon Henny Huisman also made a hit song about that in dutch ''er kan er maar een de winnaar zijn'' btw :laugh:)




Layton is the favourite, closely followed by Ellie

but Bobby is the underdog of this final, and with a couple vote winning performances he could be in with a chance too


also Rose, Hamza did their couples choice in the final too and it had the same impact kinda although technically danced better in the final obviously




tonight this final, and the lets dance christmas special perfect for helping me through PSD (post strictly depression)

[Vanessa]

I'll have to get my food ready for the show. Will have my dinner and watch the final. I might get a pizza?

[rusticgal]

Don’t think Bobby or Layton have enough public support…Ellie I believe will take the crown.

[Redway]

Wow. This is really it.

[Vanessa]

Already, snacks and drinks ready. This is it. The grand final! :cheer2:

[Ammi]

…just letting you all know in here because I’m a bit late in the day…:love:…



https://www.thisisbigbrother.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11402698#post11402698

[joeysteele]

They will all be really good performances.
They are 3 great pairings.

I'm just going to enjoy it and whoever wins I will be very happy with.

[Vanessa]

:dance: I can't get no sleep

[joeysteele]

3 absolutely superb opening dances .

What a great start.

[Vanessa]

This a bop! :dance:

[joeysteele]

Great dance there from Ellie.

[hijaxers]

Yes shame last lift went a bit haywire.

[joeysteele]

They should all win.

They have been 6 fantastic and entertaining dances.

[smudgie]

Brilliant finalists.
All very good, Ellie would get my vote as she tried harder and didn’t pla6 it safe.

[Vanessa]

Given all my votes to Ellie. That was superb!

[hijaxers]

Gave Ellie 4 and Layton 2

[hijaxers]

4 X 10 Exellent Ellie.

[Vanessa]

Couples choice should not be allowed in the final. It's a bit of a cop out.

[hijaxers]

Bobby has done brilliant but i find him too gangly.

[joeysteele]

It was extremely moving.

[hijaxers]

It was extremely moving.

Very emotional ,everyone felt that

[joeysteele]

Wow.

This show tonight could have been a West End production well worth paying to see.

Absolutely for me, the best ever final show for me on Strictly.


Superb.
Just all round superb.

[hijaxers]

Wow.

This show tonight could have been a West End production well worth paying to see.

Absolutely for me, the best ever final show for me on Strictly.


Superb.
Just all round superb.

Fabulous performance . I agree Joey what a show !!

[Vanessa]

Are we going to find out who won now?

[joeysteele]

Fabulous performance . I agree Joey what a show !!

Really glad you've enjoyed it too hijaxers.
It's been good reading your comments.

[joeysteele]

Very well done and congratulations to Ellie.

It could have been any of them.

Tonight all were more than worthy winners.

[smudgie]

.


Yessss.
Ellie won, and she didn’t have a sob story.:cheer2:

[joeysteele]

Very well done and congratulations to Ellie.

It could have been any of them.

Tonight all were more than worthy winners.

[smudgie]

Very well done and congratulations to Ellie.

It could have been any of them.

Tonight all were more than worthy winners.

Yes Joey. The finalists this year were all amazing.

[Vanessa]

Yay I'm so happy! Exactly who I wanted to win. Her showdance was incredible. :cheer2::dance:

[joeysteele]

The best ever Strictly series for me.

This final was pure perfect entertainment from start to finish.

Brilliant pairings and brllliant finalists.

[Vanessa]

The best ever Strictly series for me.

This final was pure perfect entertainment from start to finish.

Brilliant pairings and brllliant finalists.

Yes. Great series, I've really enjoyed it.

[hijaxers]

Yes !!!!! Ellie wins and well deserved. From scratch to perfection. Well done.

[Beastie]

Didn't think Ellie would win. But we'll done!

[Strictly Jake]

So happy

[Strictly Jake]

Even though Ellie made a mistake in her showdance it was spectacular as were her other routines I feel the judges were maybe sabotaging her a bit but thank goodness she won. Have to say Bobby really stepped his game up tonight too!!

[Mystic Mock]

Tbh this Show for three series back to back now has been pushing their luck with me on constantly killing off the competition of who's going to win a competition based Show about nine-ten weeks before the final.

I mean this one has got to be the most rigged Strictly win in the history of the Show, and it's not even like I'm an Annabel fan, but having her be eliminated before the final on top of also other big vote getters like Nigel and Angela Scanlon, you're basically left with a final where Ellie is facing divisive contestants, the production are ruining the excitement of a final when orchestrating finals to be that way (because let's face it they wanted Layton & Bobby to be controversial) and it leaves only one outcome going into the final which is boring.

I mean I even understand the rigging for Rose and Hamza despite not agreeing with those reasons within the spirit of the Show, I can at least understand though that the Show thought that they were doing good by ticking off certain types of winners that don't win Strictly very often, so it gives off a feel good factor.

No offense to Ellie but why was the Show so obsessed with pushing her to win? She seems like a likable person with decent dancing skills, but it's not like she was in the competition with murderers and rapists, so it was odd to see the Show go to such extreme lengths to remove her competition before the final.

And look just to clarify this is not a personal attack on Ellie, or me moaning because my favourite didn't win, I have been consistent over the past three seasons, I want a close competition where even going into the final it's not so obvious who's going to win, the fact that Ellie could hypothetically take a huge turd on stage and still win the Show is absurd to me, that can be Layton or Bobby in the same situation as Ellie and I would still be saying the same thing that I'm saying now, I really am trying to be consistent with my critique of the Show.

Strictly is slowly going the way of TXF, I honestly wish it wouldn't, but it's making a lot of the same mistakes.

1. Coronation winners from about week 3 or 4.

2. Deliberately orchestrating popular acts to be eliminated over less popular acts.

3. Praising nearly every performance like it's a masterpiece (the last two X Factor years were really bad for this) which on a Show like Strictly is awful because if every okay dance scores an 8/10, then wtf do we score decent dances?

4. More Sob Stories creeping into Strictly than there used to be years ago.

5. New judges like Anton & Shirley that without no intention to be malicious here, but Len & Bruno were better in those roles. I also preferred Darcy to Motsi, but Motsi can make me laugh sometimes so I'm personally okay with her as a judge, and at least she has good banter with Craig.

I personally still hold out hope that the Show can still save itself in terms of quality entertainment before it's too late, but I personally feel like with each year the Show is getting significantly worse, it's just that people like Tess, Claudia, Craig, and to a lesser extent Motsi are keeping the Show afloat.

Because imo this year had a lower dancing standard to some of the other Strictly years, and the rigging was probably at it's most obvious and insufferable because of the complete disrespect to what I think was the public's real fan favourite at the top four.

Tbf to Ellie though, she is a good dancer (better than Rose & Hamza on a technical level) so I'm not taking that away from her, but she should've had to face an actual challenge in the final, and I will always stand by that.

[Nicky91]

my usual review and my scores


Ellie & Vito:

Paso Doble: this is one of the best paso's i've ever seen in strictly history wow 10

Showdance: flawless apart from the mistakes in the lifts, a shame for that otherwise it would've been all time greatest showdance possibly 9

American Smooth: perfect ballroom number, nothing more to add 10


Bobby & Dianne:

Samba: those hips are literal FIRE!!!!!!!! and danced even better than the first time around 10

Showdance: adore this concept, of their own ''musical/movie'' vibe, also love the diss at Craig :laugh3: brilliant combo of ballroom and tap dancing, from a novice to dancer Bobby has potential to go to hollywood indeed, i wouldn't be surprised if Disney+ for example offers him a contract for some new upcoming series or film, maybe even MCU potential, how easy on the eye he is and how talented of an actor, back to the dance 10

Couples Choice: compared to first time around, i was in tears now this was the perfect end to his journey 10


Layton & Nikita

Quickstep: i have to admit, his ballroom technique he has worked on this week massive improvements indeed, this was good 10

Showdance: kinda disappointing he went for a quicksteppy/charleston theme since his judges pick was also quick, also parts weren't in sync, like in the beginning, somewhere halfway down and also near the end that kinda looked noticeably awkward 8

Argentine Tango: fabulous AT, i do however prefer my AT's to traditional music but this was great 9



Ellie is a deserving winner


i am happy for Bobby, 3x 39 score and i somehow think he also was 2nd with the public, i really think he finished above Layton with the public, based on that i saw quite more support for Bobby on strictly blog, especially after the quickstep of his in the semi final his support increased a bit more




as for the judges

Craig i dislike (hating on Bobby ain't nice look tbh :idc: also for no reason, when he is positive and still only gives a 9)


i like Shirley and Anton


Motsi needs to calm down, like she does in the german version

[Nicky91]

Motsi and Jorge and Herr Llambi's chemistry on lets dance is not easy to beat honestly



the quality of shows well strictly has its own uniqueness but lets dance is more back to basics with way more traditional music which is also fab and more themed weeks



the duffers in strictly are lesser good than in lets dance, where the pro's really work extra hard with the lesser celebs on paper to try and make them improve week by week with success


Les Dennis is a shame he didn't have a too good teacher in Nancy, while if he had Isabel Edvardsson he would've lasted couple more weeks i think (she recently had a similar height celeb also a entertainer in Knossi whom week 1 was also a complete disaster but afterwards it moved slowly upwards and lasted until week 8)

[millyrose]

Yeah Ellie wins well done

[Vanessa]

Even though Ellie made a mistake in her showdance it was spectacular as were her other routines I feel the judges were maybe sabotaging her a bit but thank goodness she won. Have to say Bobby really stepped his game up tonight too!!

Yes her showdance was incredible. I usually hate the showdances, but I absolutely loved this one.
I was dancing along. So much fun!

[rusticgal]

Just watched the Final....so emotional and a fantastic final. I still cant believe what an amazing young man Bobby is and I have loved watching him grow as a Dancer.
I have loved watching Layton and Nikita perform week in and week out...amazing.
Ellie didnt have a lot of charisma for me to support her...having said that like Bobby who had never danced before she has become an amazing dancer and her bravery to perform that dance tonight...she thoroughly deserved the win.

Great series...

[AnnieK]

Just watched the Final....so emotional and a fantastic final. I still cant believe what an amazing young man Bobby is and I have loved watching him grow as a Dancer.
I have loved watching Layton and Nikita perform week in and week out...amazing.
Ellie didnt have a lot of charisma for me to support her...having said that like Bobby who had never danced before she has become an amazing dancer and her bravery to perform that dance tonight...she thoroughly deserved the win.

Great series...

Agree with everything here Rusti.
It was a great final and Ellie has transformed. I was routing for Layton but know he didn't have a chance in popularity stakes

Will miss it on a Saturday.
Hope you had a good birthday and your hangover has cleared :laugh:

[Nicky91]

sorry for saying this but i really wish Amanda didn't sign up for this show


the way she also said no to the group dance in the final, basically dissing Gio leaving him all alone there in the clauditorium


would've been nice for her to end her ''journey'' with a bit more positivity, Gio deserved much better this series honestly :(



even Nigel showed up for the group dance, and he had a broken rib and he managed to do some moves



in terms of everyone else in the group number

Les with that shaking camera forever something iconic :worship:

Krishnan well will always be seen as a dancer now people watch on the news, the icon who made walking fun


La Rippon Sexy Leg tricks also her disco moves looked kinda good in there too


Zara's iconicly high lift