Strictly Come Dancing Champions Announced in Spectacular Grand Final

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 professional soccer player to claim the glitterball trophy.

She defeated reality TV star Amber Davies and online influencer George Clarke after winning the audience vote in Saturday's live final.

Carney, who was dancing with professional dancer Carlos Gu, stated: "This is incredible, it's been the biggest honour," before saying she was "overwhelmed".

It was an poignant night in the studio, as hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly fronted the final for the final occasion - with the Queen among those offering praise to the veteran hosts.

In a note presented by panelist Craig Revel Horwood, the Queen said Daly and Winkleman's "warmth, empathy and sheer joy" had been at the heart of the show's popularity, adding: "On behalf of all viewers when I say you have been utterly fab-u-lous".

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 final decision.

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

They also performed a sports-inspired jive to 'One Way Or Another' by Blondie, garnering them a standing ovation - and their second full marks of the night.

But the winning pair faced fierce rivalry from the other remaining couples.

Amber Davies and her partner, Nikita Kuzmin, were the first to grace the stage.

The pair performed dances including a show dance to 'Rain On Me' by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, a Spanish-inspired dance to 'Dream On' by Aerosmith, and a jive to 'Proud Mary'.

Meanwhile, George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr performed again their dramatic dance 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 ballroom dances, it was Carney and Gu's night as they won the public vote.

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

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

Other memorable moments on the night included most of the contestants of 2025 returning for one more performance.

However, online figure Thomas Skinner did not appear. He had alleged earlier that the vote that saw him exit the show was unfair.

A spokesperson denied the allegation, saying the show's audience vote was "independently overseen and checked to ensure total accuracy".

The boyband Five also performed a selection of their hits during the grand final.

Tess and Claudia's Final Show

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

Daly has hosted since the inaugural series 21 years ago. Winkleman came on board in 2014, having hosted Strictly's companion program It Takes Two since 2004.

This was their last 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 recorded notes from celebrity chef Mary Berry, members of the crew and devotees of the show.

The Queen's message said: "I have often thought that Strictly is not so much a show about dancing as about friendships: the connections forged, the struggles conquered and the joy experienced in undertaking a shared challenge.

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

"The kindness, care and sheer happiness you have radiated with and from each other has been at the centre of the show's success."

Daly and Winkleman's last ever appearance will be the Christmas special, which airs on 25 December.