Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Strictly Come Dancing, TV And Film, BBC, Celebrity
Rhianna Benson
It's official - the 2023 series of much-loved BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing has come to a dramatic end.
And after 13 fun-fuelled weeks of salsas, tangos and Viennese Waltzs, judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke have tonight crowned their winning couple as Ellie and Vito.
EastEnders youngster Bobby Brazier, Coronation Street actor Ellie Leach and Bad Education alum Layton Williams all performed three dances each with their professional partners on Saturday night.
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Soap star Bobby performed a 'Couple's Choice' routine to 'This Woman's Work' by Maxwell alongside his partner Dianne Buswell - as well as a La La Land themed Showdance, and a Samba to Kym Mazelle's version of 'Young Hearts Run Free'.
Corrie favourite Ellie and her professional partner Vito Coppola danced an American Smooth to Robbie Williams' rendition of 'Ain't That a Kick in the Head?', a Jennifer Lopez megamix Showdance, and a Paso Doble to 'Insomnia' by Faithless.
Meanwhile, theatre star Layton and his toe-tapping pal Nikita Kuzmin performed an Argentine Tango to 'Tattoo' by Loreen, a Showdance to 'Friend Like Me' by Ne-Yo and a Quickstep to 'Puttin' On the Ritz' by Gregory Porter.
Viewers then received the chance to vote for their favourites until the moment came when BBC presenter Tess Daly announced the eagerly-anticipated results.
It was then the winner was announced as the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing champion.
Tennis legend Annabel Croft and her partner Johannes Radebe narrowly missed out on the shot to perform this week after being eliminated by the judges when she landed in the bottom two against actor Bobby.
The week earlier, Strictly viewers were blindsided after it was revealed that The Bill star Nigel Harman and his partner Katya Jones had to withdraw from the series on 'medical grounds' after sustaining a rib injury.
In the weeks prior to that, viewers were forced to say goodbye to Irish TV presenter Angela Scanlon and her partner Carlos Gu, newsreader Angela Rippon and her parter Kai Widdrington and Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy and his partner Lauren Oakley.
We lost Waterloo Road star Adam Thomas and his partner Luba Mushtuk on Week 7, and Love Island contestant Zara McDermott and her partner Graziano Di Prima the previous week.
Viewers were forced to bid adieu to two stars on the fifth week of the competition after comedian Eddie Kadi and his partner Karen Hauer were eliminated by the judges, and Amanda Abbington quit the show, citing 'medical grounds' while sparking rumours of a feud between she and her partner Giovanni Pernice.
Paralympian Jody Cundy and his partner Jowita Przystał were the third stars to leave the competition, following Week 2 evictee, BBC Radio presenter Nikita Kanda and her partner Gorka Márquez.
And the first 2023 star to say an extremely premature goodbye was actor Les Dennis, who left the show in Week 1 with his partner Nancy Xu.