It took two and a half hours and a complete of 12 dances – not together with the bonus ones from the Strictly professionals and the group dance from the Class of 2022 – however ultimately, there may solely be one winner. And this 12 months it was Hamza Yassin, a wildlife cameraman and CBBC’s Ranger Hamza, who lifted the glitterball.
For his skilled accomplice, Jowita Przystał, touchdown a win with a complete dance novice in her first 12 months on Strictly was sudden, and one thing former Strictly professional and present choose Anton Du Beke failed to realize in the most effective a part of 20 years.
However 32-year-old Yassin impressed the judges with a mixture of fashion, grace and rhythm throughout all three closing dances – a tropical salsa to Ecuador by Sash!, an Afrobeats-inspired couple’s selection routine to Jerusalema by Grasp KG, and a stunning showdance to Let’s Face the Music and Dance by Irving Berlin.
The routines showcased Yassin’s excellent efficiency expertise throughout Latin and ballroom, and finally gained the hearts of the Strictly viewers to safe his win over fellow finalists Helen Skelton, Fleur East and Molly Rainford.
An emotional Yassin stated: “It’s laborious to explain how I really feel … Jowita, you’re an angel disguised as a human being.”
Przystał stated he got here into the present with “pigeon toes” and she or he was honoured to assist him win.
Over the past present of the sequence, all {couples} needed to carry out a routine chosen by the judges, their very own favorite dance and at last a present dance.
After the three advisory scores got by the judges, East and Vito Coppola have been high of the leaderboard with 119 factors, with Skelton and Gorka Márquez coming second on 116 factors.
Rainford and Carlos Gu obtained a complete of 115 factors, and Yassin and Przystał got here backside on 113 factors. However the public vote finally determined who lifted the coveted glitterball trophy for 2022.
In a gruelling 13-week sequence that skilled a number of scheduling modifications to accommodate the World Cup, Yassin and Skelton secured sufficient votes from the judges and public to maintain them out of the dance-off hazard zone each week, whereas fellow finalists East and Rainford needed to dance for survival 4 instances.
Yassin has a break from the dancefloor for a couple of weeks earlier than rehearsals start for the Strictly Dwell Tour; after tonight’s win, he’ll be taking to the Strictly dancefloor because the headline act.
Ranger Hamza now has a few further additions on his CV – Strictly Come Dancing’s twentieth winner, and the UK’s latest nationwide treasure.
