Strictly Champion

Well it has been an amazing series of Strictly Come Dancing, with probably the closest final ever (Although any one of the last five couples could have won in previous series).I was very pleased to see Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy win in the end, not least because Mark and Karen were one of my first week picks to do well. I was pretty sure after their Argentine Tango last week that they would go on to win – it was spine-tingelingly good. For the final, their revived tango was good, their salsa was outstanding and deserved the top marks from the judges, but their showdance was the crowning glory – a proper dance, with dance content and not all show, which began with the most amazing standing lift and got even better as it progressed.

Both Mark, for his dance ability and great enjoyment of dancing, and Karen, with the most infectious smile and fantastic choreography, really deserved to win. I only wish I had put money on them after the first week!