Comedian McCausland tipped to be Strictly’s first blind winner
After weeks of intense competition, the Strictly Come Dancing finalists are primed to take to the dance floor one last time.
Four celebrities are vying to get their hands on the glitterball trophy, in the show’s 20th anniversary year: Chris McCausland, JB Gill, Sarah Hadland and Tasha Ghouri.
Comedian McCausland, who is Strictly’s first blind contestant, has emerged as the bookmakers’ favourite to win after impressing both audiences and judges.
The grand final will be broadcast on Saturday from 18:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.
At the start of the series there were 15 couples. The remaining four are:
The finalists will perform three routines each in front of a live audience and the Strictly judges before the public votes for a winner.
Other highlights from the show will include the professional dancers joining singer Raye for a performance, and the full cast of 2024 returning to the dance floor for one last routine.
‘Scariest thing I’ve ever done’
Ahead of the final, McCausland said training had been “relentless”, but that he had also found he had “a lot more resilience and determination” than he knew.
“It’s been exhausting, and it’s been the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I think it’s certainly been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
“And it’s probably the thing that’s going to have the most lasting effect on me in terms of my outlook on the world and life, and really the opportunities that I have.”
The 47-year-old and professional partner Buswell will perform routines including their waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers in the grand final.
The pair will also reprise their couple’s choice routine to Instant Karma by John Lennon, which they first performed last month.
During the dance, which went viral on social media, the comedian placed his hands over Buswell’s eyes as the room faded to black. The lights came back up moments later to show him spinning Buswell around on his shoulders as pyrotechnics flared in the background.
The pair received a score of 33 out of a possible 40 from the judges, with Craig Revel Horwood describing the “poignant blackout moment” as “absolutely spectacular”.
McCausland was registered blind after losing his sight to retinitis pigmentosa in his 20s and 30s.
He revealed his 11-year-old daughter was initially “nervous” when he started out on Strictly, in case he fell over and “embarrassed” himself.
But now, she is backing him to win, he added.
“She’d say every Saturday, ‘It doesn’t matter daddy if you go out because I think you’ve already won’,” he said.
“And then it was when we got to the semi-finals she said, ‘Daddy, do you know when I said it doesn’t matter? I’ve changed my mind. I think you can win this thing’.”
‘It’s an incredible feeling’
Gill has made it to the final, but his original dance partner, Amy Dowden, was forced to pull out of the series last month after a foot injury.
The professional posted on Instagram in November to say she was heartbroken that she could no longer continue.
It came not long after the Caerphilly-born dancer finished chemotherapy.
Dowden later clarified that her injury was unrelated to previous health issues, adding that she needed to rest but hoped to return.
Fellow pro Lauren Oakley took her place, pairing up with the JLS singer.
The pair will perform routines including a Show Dance to a Motown Medley and a Viennese Waltz to Let’s Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins.
Gill said it had been an “honour” to be partnered with Dowden, and was also full of praise for his new dance partner.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Gill said. “To make it here, to be here, alongside Lauren, is amazing.”
As one part of a highly successful band, Gill came into the show with some previous dance experience.
And, despite changing partners, he has consistently scored highly in the leaderboard and goes into the final in the top slot.
But he said he was still challenged every week and learnt new things.
“You have good weeks and you have bad weeks,” he said. “Yes, the steps are one thing, but actually it’s about feeling it and enjoying it.”
Can Vito win again?
Professional dancer Vito Coppola won the contest last year alongside Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach.
He’ll be looking to repeat that success on Saturday night with Miranda actress Hadland.
Hadland, 53, has won praise during the series for her strong messages about women believing in themselves.
In video footage ahead of her routine last month, she said she had received numerous messages from women her age who had given up on dancing.
“Other people aren’t telling me what I can and can’t do. I am,” she said to the camera.
It sparked a big reaction online.
“My favourite genre of couple’s choice is a woman talking about self growth and discovery… and deliver the hottest fosse number possible,” said one X user.
“Sarah Hadland melts my heart, I love her so much,” wrote another.
On Saturday, the pair will perform routines including a Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna, and American Smooth to Proud by Heather Small.
Speaking ahead of the final, Hadland said she went into the contest thinking she was “a very confident person” and someone who knows what she’s capable of.
But during the series, she’s realised she puts limits on herself.
“Now I’ve realised it, you don’t know it’s happened to you, and then you say, ‘Oh, how much in other parts of my life am I doing this?'” she said.
“You shouldn’t ever reach a point in your life for whatever reason, that you say, ‘That’s me, that’s my limit’. You shouldn’t do that, because you’re stopping all these possibilities.”
‘Bedazzling my cochlear implant’
Former Love Island star Ghouri, 26, and dance partner Aljaž Škorjanec, will also enter the final in a strong position.
The pair were the first to get a score of 10 and a perfect 40 this series, with their elegant American Smooth to Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi.
During Saturday’s final, they will reprise that routine, as well as performing a new show dance to Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman.
Ghouri is Strictly’s second deaf contestant, three year’s after Rose Ayling-Ellis won the contest.
Speaking ahead of the final, Ghouri said her time on Strictly had been “an absolute dream, especially bedazzling my cochlear implant”.
She said the show’s costume team had been adding diamantes to the implant every week, so it matched her costumes.
“The amount of messages I’ve got from – especially younger women, younger children, teenagers – who have said, ‘I felt represented because I’ve seen you on TV, I started decorating mine as well’, and that’s the power of representation, it’s so important to have that,” she said.
The model, author and podcaster from North Yorkshire became visibly emotional on the show last month as she opened up about the negative reaction she has previously experienced online due to her disability.
But reflecting on her experience of being on Strictly, Ghouri described it as “magic” and “crazy”.
“I feel like it’s just been such a special year to be part of and representation is so important to have and I feel so passionate about it.”
