"This show is magic"
Strictly Come Dancing has crowned the winners of its 2023 Christmas special.
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and his professional partner Nancy Xu were named the festive champions by the Strictly judges for their quickstep, in an episode airing hours before BBC One broadcasts its massive whodunnit revelation that was set up in the soap 10 months ago.
"This is great, it's been a wonderful experience, but we're all winners here. This show is magic," Jamie told Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
The duo were victorious over historian Dan Snow and pro Nadiya Bychkova, rugby star Danny Cipriani and pro Jowita Przystał, Sugababes' Keisha Buchanan and pro Gorka Márquez, BBC Breakfast news reader Sally Nugent and pro Graziano Di Prima, as well as Waterloo Road's Tillie Amartey and pro Neil Jones.
The scoring broke down to Jamie and Nancy getting a 40 from the judges for their Quickstep to 'Merry Christmas Everyone', while runner-up Tillie and Neil earned 39 points for their Jive to 'Underneath the Tree'.
Sally and Graziano were close behind with 38 for their Foxtrot to 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas', while Danny and Jowita's Cha-Cha to 'Celebration' scored 37 and Keisha and Gorka's Viennese Waltz to 'Snowman' scored 33.
Dan and Nadiya scored last with 30 for their Jive to 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' . The judges' scores were combined with the studio audience vote to determine the winner.
Borthwick's Silver Star victory is a huge accomplishment for the actor, since he admitted he was "a three, a two maybe" in terms of skill before training for the special.
"Now I’m probably a high six, middle seven," Jamie said, with his partner Nancy assuring him: "That’s a little bit critical."
The actor added: "It’s really not easy, but the pros, wow, it really goes to show you how good they are. I’m thinking about my frame, my footwork, my toe, my hand, and when you watch the pros dance they are the crème-de-la-crème! They are the best in the world, they are amazing."
The winning pair also discussed their training regime, with Jamie suggesting that he jumped at the chance to learn a new skill.
"I’ve really enjoyed learning a new skill," he said. "Anyone can teach anyone how to do their craft, Nancy can tell me to put my right leg here, and point your toe, but she explains it in a way that I understand. For me that’s the difference between a teacher and a great teacher, and that’s what she has done this whole experience. It’s been a real thrill."
Nancy actually has previous experience pairing with soap stars, as she has worked with Coronation Street's Will Mellor and Les Dennis in the main Strictly series, as well as EastEnders icon Rudolph Walker in a Children in Need special.
This year's Christmas spectacular also featured Sam Ryder performing his new single 'You’re Christmas To Me', as he was joined by Strictly pros Giovanni Pernice, Lauren Oakley, Kai Widdrington and Luba Mushtuk.
