Strictly Champions Crowned in Glitzy Grand Finale

This piece covers the conclusion of the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing culminating event.

Ex- England footballer Karen Carney has been declared this year's Strictly Come Dancing champion, emerging as the first footballer to lift the glitterball trophy.

She defeated Love Islander Amber Davies and online influencer George Clarke after winning the audience vote in Saturday's grand finale.

Carney, who was dancing with professional dancer Carlos Gu, said: "This is incredible, it's been the greatest privilege," before adding she was "overwhelmed".

It was an emotional night in the ballroom, as presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly hosted the final for the last time - with the Queen among those offering praise to the long-running hosts.

In a message read out by judge Craig Revel Horwood, the Queen said Daly and Winkleman's "kindness, empathy and sheer joy" had been at the heart of the show's popularity, stating: "On behalf of all viewers when I say you have been utterly wonderful".

As usual, one of the dances in the grand finale was selected by the judges, one was their own favourite dance from the competition, and the other was a freestyle routine.

The judges gave advisory scores but the viewing audience made the ultimate choice.

Carney and Gu performed routines including a show dance to 'Inner Smile' by Texas, and an Argentine Tango to 'Red Right Hand' by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

They also performed a football-themed jive to 'One Way Or Another' by Blondie, garnering them a rapturous reception - and their second perfect score of the night.

But the winning duo faced strong rivalry from the other competing couples.

Amber Davies and her partner, Nikita Kuzmin, were the initial to grace the dance floor.

The pair delivered routines including a freestyle to 'Rain On Me' by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, a Paso Doble to 'Dream On' by Aerosmith, and a upbeat dance to 'Proud Mary'.

Meanwhile, George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr performed again their Paso Doble to 'Game of Survival' by Ruelle.

They also did their show dance to 'Human' by The Killers, and a classical waltz to 'Somebody to Love' by Queen.

But after weeks of salsas and foxtrots, it was Carney and Gu's night as they won the viewer poll.

"My sincere thanks go to everybody that has backed our experience, and supported us," said Carney.

Gu told her she had "been transformative," commenting: "To the young people watching at home, dream big and be confident and never give up."

Other memorable moments on the night included most of the cast of 2025 returning for one more routine.

However, social media personality Thomas Skinner did not appear. He had claimed earlier that the elimination process that saw him exit the show was unfair.

A representative denied the claim, saying the show's audience vote was "externally monitored and checked to ensure total fairness".

The group Five also performed a string of their popular songs during the finale.

Tess and Claudia's Last Show

In October, Daly and Winkleman made the shock revelation that they would be stepping down at the end of this year's season.

Daly has presented since the inaugural series 21 years ago. Winkleman joined in 2014, having fronted Strictly's sister show It Takes Two since 2004.

This was their final time presenting a Strictly final, and both were full of emotion as they said their goodbyes.

During the televised event, as well as the message from the Queen, there were messages from TV cook Mary Berry, members of the crew and devotees of the show.

The Queen's message said: "It has often seemed to me that Strictly is not so much a show about dancing as about relationships: the connections created, the struggles conquered and the joy experienced in undertaking a shared endeavour.

"If that is true, then perhaps yours has been the most significant Strictly pairing of all.

"The kindness, compassion and sheer joy you have projected with and from each other has been at the heart of the show's success."

Daly and Winkleman's final show will be the Christmas special, which airs on 25 December.