The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ 2025 final delivered high emotion, huge performances, and one last public vote that crowned a brand-new champion.
After months of action and a tense concluding episode, the winners were announced moments ago.
Standing at the heart of it all was Karen Carney, who lifted the Glitterball trophy alongside professional partner Carlos Gu following a dramatic live final.
The pair faced stiff competition from George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, with each finalist performing a Showdance, a judges’ pick, and their favourite routine of the series.
When the result was announced, Carney was visibly stunned by the win. Speaking moments after being named champion, she said:
“I cannot believe it. I just wanna say thank you to everyone that’s supported our journey and thank you to this wonderful gentleman. We are a team and I couldn’t have done this without you. It’s been the biggest privilege and honour.”
Carlos Gu echoed the emotion, adding:
“Thank you for being so incredible. We challenged each other, we never gave up on each other, and thank you for changing my life.”
Carney now joins a prestigious list of Glitterball winners, following in the footsteps of Chris McCausland, Ellie Leach, Hamza Yassin, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and Bill Bailey.
The finale also marked the end of an era for the BBC dance juggernaut. It was the final live show hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who will step away after this year’s Christmas special.