Bill Bailey triumphs in Strictly Come Dancing 2020 final

The comedian and his professional dance partner Oti Mabuse were crowned champions as this years’ series had its grand finale. 

Maisie Smith and Gorka Marquez, HRVY and Janette Manrara and Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer were also in the running for the glitterball trophy tonight.

The series swansong saw the four finalists tackle a judges’ pick and their own favourite routine from their back catalogue as well as a no-holds-barred show dance.

HRVY and Janette performed their jive to Faith for the judges; the pair went on to perform a show dance to Boogie Wonderland before revisiting their American Smooth to One (Singular Sensation).

Jamie and Karen were called upon to re-perform their Charleston to Zero to Hero by the judges, before tackling a show dance to I’m Still Standin’ and their Couples Choice to Gonna Make You Sweat.

Victors Bill and Oti performed their Quickstep to Talk To The Animals at the judges’ behest, a show dance to The Show Must Go On and their Couples Choice to Rapper’s Delight.

Maisie and Gorka’s judges pick was their samba to Samba (Conga), after which they performed a show dance to We Need A Little Christmas and their Quickstep to When You’re Smiling.

“It feels surreal. It feels extraordinary. It feels wonderful. I never thought that we would get this far but I have the most extraordinary teacher, the most extraordinary dancer… Someone who believed in me right from the beginning and she found something in me [and] turned me into this.” – Bill Bailey

Oti said: “Bill, I think you are amazing. You just put your heart and soul into everything. Thank you for being a friend and a father figure to me.”

Tonight’s final show also featured a return to the Strictly ballroom from Nicola Adams and Katya Jones with a special non-competitive performance to round off their Strictly journey, which was cut short by Katya testing positive for Covid-19.

There was a music performance by Robbie Williams and the Strictly Come Dancing class of 2020 took to the floor for one last socially-distanced group dance.