COMEDIAN Chris McCausland has won Strictly Come Dancing 2024.
The 47-year-old beat fellow finalists Miranda actress Sarah Hadland, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and JLS singer JB Gill in the final, which has been branded the ‘most emotional’ of all time.
Chris has made history as the first ever blind contestant to take part in and win the BBC dance show.
He performed three routines this evening alongside his pro partner Dianne Buswell.
Speaking after his win, a shocked Chris said: “It’s astonishing. I don’t know what to say.
“I honestly thought I could go out in the first week or two. We have just lasted and lasted.
He thanked his partner Dianne Buswell and said: “She’s positivity, she’s belief, and she’s honestly just one of the easiest people to be funny with.
“She deserves this so much. She’s just honestly one of the easiest people to be funny with the other and unless she changes her number, she’s stuck with me.
On winning the glitterball, he said: “This is for her (Dianne) and it’s for everyone out there that thought and got told they couldn’t do something.
“It just shows with opportunity and support and determination anything can happen.”
It is the first time Dianne, who joined the show in 2017, has won Strictly.
She said: “It’s pretty cool.
“Chris says that this is for me, but it’s not for me – this is for me and you, Chris. We did this together.
“This is for both of us, not just me, we worked together and we did it.”
After months of dancing, Chris was praised for his routines – which included the couple’s favourite dance, their final show dance and the routine best enjoyed by the judges.
He was given his first perfect score of 40 points for a waltz routine to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers, his final dance of the series.
Dianne, Chris and the judges all wept after the incredible performance.
Chris’ second routine featured different dance styles to You Get What You Give by New Radicals, and he also recreated his viral “blackout moment” for the first dance.
In the couple’s choice routine to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon, Chris placed his hands over Dianne’s eyes as the room faded to black, before the ballroom went completely dark and then the light came back on – with pyrotechnics flaring in the background.
Ahead of the final, Chris admitted: “I feel like we’ve never stayed in the competition above anybody that got higher scores than us, so it feels like we’ve exceeded expectations and got here on our own merits, so we’ve succeeded above and beyond what we expected of ourselves.”
Reflecting back on his journey, the comic described it as “unbelievable, surprising and emotional” and feels he has learnt a lot about himself.
“The fact that we’ve been able to do it, the fact that we’ve been able to pull this off, the fact we’ve been able to learn the dances and put on a show… It’s all surprising”, he added.
The final also saw the professional dancers join singer-songwriter Raye for a special performance while the cast of 2024 returned to the dancefloor for one last routine.
The episode was full of tears and emotion from the judges, the stars and those watching at home.
Motsi Mabuse started crying after the first dance and continued throughout much of the episode, as did Shirley Ballas.
The celebrities and their pro partners were all left in tears after their final dances.
Those watching at home rushed online to comment on it, with one person writing: “This is the most emotional strictly final I’ve ever seen.”
A second wrote: “Wow this is the best & most emotional final I’ve ever seen & I’ve seen them all.”
And a third added: “I don’t think we’ve ever had so many emotional moments on #Strictly before. This has been a truly stellar series.”
Strictly first kicked off back in 2004, and over the years has crowned 21 winners.
Here is a full list of who has been lucky enough to win the famous Glitterball Trophy:
