Strictly Come Dancing has been running for 20 years, but Anton Du Beke has named Tasha Ghouri as the best dancer to ever compete in the show’s history.
The reality star, best known for being a finalist on the ITV dating competition Love Island in 2022, is currently competing against Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, and JB Gill and his pro partner Lauren Oakley in tonight’s grand final (14 December).
During the live episode, Ghouri, who is partnered with Škorjanec on the dancing competition, performed an American Smooth to “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi, and blew the judges away with a perfect score of 40.
Follow along with our live coverage of the Strictly Come Dancing final here.
During the judge’s feedback, Anton Du Beke told Ghouri it was “shame” that the series was coming to an end, but said he had learnt a valuable lesson throughout this year’s competition.
“I asked earlier if you could be the best dancer we’ve ever had on Strictly Come Dancing, and I think you’ve answered it tonight,” he told Ghouri. “I think you’re the best dancer we’ve ever had on Strictly. You’re an amazing talent.”
During the final, the pair also performed a judge’s pick, a couple’s choice routine to “What About Us” by P!nk and a show dance to “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman.
Throughout the competition, Ghouri quickly proved herself to be a natural on the dancefloor, regularly landing some of the highest scores on the leaderboard including the first 10s of the season.
Prior to her finding love with fellow contestant Andrew Le Page on Love Island, she went viral for appearing as an ASOS model for earrings wearing her cochlear implant and hearing aid.
Ghouri, who is from Thirsk in North Yorkshire, was born deaf and initially fitted for hearing aids before receiving a single cochlear implant just before her fifth birthday. The device assists with hearing, by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve.
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Ghouri trained as a dancer at Creative Academy in Slough and has since competed at major dance events. She specialises in commercial, which is a broader style of dance popularly seen in music videos or on stage at music tours.
The reality star has been subject to criticism for having previous dance experience, but has previously stressed that ballroom technique is different to that required for commercial dancing.
“Commercial dance is very different to ballroom dance and latin, I’m still having to strip down and relearn, even walking in cha cha step is weird to me – you have to turn out your feet and lead with your hips, so it’s based on muscle memory,” she told The Independent in September. “Even letting a man take the lead is a lot.”
Ghouri said that she signed up for the show to make her family proud, and is looking forward to a positive experience.
“I’ve gotta block out that noise and luckily I’ve been in this industry for two years and I’ve grown so much stronger after Love Island – there was so much negativity,” she said. “[Strictly] is my dream. It’s something I’ve dreamt of for so long. So I’m doing this for me and my family and my partner.”
