After four unexpected drop-outs, 10 dance-offs and countless spray tans, we now have our Strictly Come Dancing final three: Karen Carney, George Clarke and Amber Davies.
It’s fair to say this year’s series has been a chaotic ride. Amid the furore over Tom Skinner landing a place on the show, Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn and ex-Love Islander Dani Dyer were forced to pull out before the curtain even went up. In the weeks that followed, their replacements – Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and Dyer’s fellow Islander Amber Davies – made their mark on the competition.
There was then the bombshell news of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s decision to leave, before two other celebrities were forced to pull out due to injury, with La Voix’s untimely exit leading to an elimination-free Blackpool.
With the Glitterball trophy in touching distance for the finalists, here are their Strictly journeys so far…
Amber Davies
Davies redefined the term “last-minute addition” when she stepped in to replace Dani Dyer with less than 48 hours to go until the launch show. But you’d never have guessed it when she pulled off a Waltz that wouldn’t have looked out of place in week five or six.
From the moment Davies set foot on the dancefloor, it was clear the 29-year-old was destined for the final. The former Love Islander has delivered plenty of this year’s wow moments, including a lift-packed, Ariana Grande-inspired Cha Cha in Icons Week and a flawless Charleston in the quarter-finals. But Davies has often struggled to win over viewers because of something that is, at this point, out of her control: past dance experience.
Plenty has been said about Davies’ West End training and multiple leading roles. And while it’s undeniable that it’s helped her in the competition, it has worked against her too and ultimately looks set to cost her the Glitterball trophy. Despite easily being the most skilled dancer left in the competition, Davies is the only one of this year’s finalists to have faced the dance-off and she didn’t deserve to be there on either occasion.
Another unexpected and unwarranted side effect has been the relentless negativity and abuse she has faced online. After Davies beat fan-favourite Lewis Cope in the quarter-final dance-off, the comments became so vitriolic that her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin issued an emotional plea to fans.
Karen Carney
While plenty of male footballers have taken part in Strictly – with very little success – Carney is the first female player to do so. And just as she did on the pitch for Arsenal, Chelsea and England, she’s set the bar incredibly high on the dancefloor.
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The 38-year-old came out of the blocks incredibly strong in week one, making her Strictly debut with an energetic jive that catapulted her and Carlos Gu straight to the top of the leaderboard. But when it came to taking on a ballroom routine the following week, Carney struggled. In a VT, she revealed she has Scheuermann’s disease, which causes a curvature of the spine. “There are certain elements I won’t be able to do as well as I’d like to,” she said before her Tango. But, in what we now know to be typical Carney fashion, the former footballer threw herself in wholeheartedly – and didn’t let the judges’ controversial comments get her down.
In the weeks that followed, Carney worked tirelessly in the training room, but while she avoided the dance-offs, it wasn’t until the Halloween special that she managed to replicate the success of week one. With a dramatic Peaky Blinders-themed Argentine Tango, Carney reminded everyone she was still in the competition. She’s soared in the live shows since, pulling off a triumphant Couple’s Choice set to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, a Blackpool Paso Doble that scored 39 and, in the semi-final, the best Waltz of the series.
Carney hasn’t just transformed on the dancefloor. Before her Couple’s Choice routine, the star revealed how trolling during her punditry career has impacted her mental health, recalling how one particular unnamed incident “completely knocked my confidence and I’ve not been able to get it back”. The show, she added, “has helped my confidence so much… I can be my true, authentic self.”
The tears, both happy and sad, have often flowed, with Carney and Gu – who have developed one of the strongest bonds of the series – wearing their hearts on their sleeves through all the highs and lows.
George Clarke
While Clarke boasted millions of followers online, most Strictly viewers had no idea who the 26-year-old was when he signed up for the show. The YouTuber introduced himself to viewers with an American Smooth but Clarke has often seemed more comfortable showing his fun side.
His Couple’s Choice came early in the competition and was bizarrely set to a Kpop Demon Hunters track, perhaps in a bid for the show to pull in younger viewers. In Blackpool, Clarke delivered one of Strictly’s most memorable Salsas – to “Party Rock Anthem”, no less – before later revelling in the chaos of the Instant Dance challenge (and getting a telling off from partner Alexis Warr for his quirky and entirely impractical outfit choice).
Despite his love of playing for laughs, Clarke’s dapper displays in the more serious ballroom numbers have also won plaudits from the judges and helped viewers see another side of him. His partnering skills and ability to help Warr shine have also been highly praised by the judges.
Highlights, not just for Clarke but the series as a whole, have included his Phantom of the Opera-themed Argentine Tango for Musicals Week and his week 10 quickstep to Frank Sinatra’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You”. Clarke also showed his vulnerable side in the notoriously difficult rumba, which he dedicated to his mother and grandfather.
As well as being the only male contestant left in the competition, Clarke is the only finalist yet to score a highly coveted 40. Can he change that on Saturday?
The Strictly Come Dancing final airs on Saturday 20 December at 7pm on BBC One.
