Strictly Come Dancing Winners Announced in Spectacular Live Final

This piece covers the outcome of the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing championship.

Ex- Lioness Karen Carney has been declared this year's Strictly Come Dancing champion, emerging as the first professional soccer player to claim the coveted trophy.

She beat reality TV star Amber Davies and social media star George Clarke after winning the public vote in Saturday's grand finale.

Carney, who was dancing with professional dancer Carlos Gu, said: "This is incredible, it's been the biggest honour," before saying she was "speechless".

It was an heartfelt night in the ballroom, as presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly fronted the final for the final occasion - with Queen Camilla among those offering praise to the veteran hosts.

In a note read out by judge Craig Revel Horwood, the Queen said Daly and Winkleman's "kindness, compassion and sheer happiness" had been at the core of the show's popularity, stating: "On behalf of all viewers when I say you have been utterly fab-u-lous".

As usual, one of the dances in the grand finale was selected by the judges, one was their own preferred dance from the series, and the other was a freestyle routine.

The judges gave advisory scores but the public made the ultimate choice.

Carney and Gu performed routines including a show dance to 'Inner Smile' by Texas, and an Argentine Tango to 'Red Right Hand' by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

They also performed a sports-inspired jive to 'One Way Or Another' by Blondie, garnering them a standing ovation - and their second full marks of the night.

But the victorious duo faced stiff rivalry from the other remaining couples.

Amber Davies and her partner, Nikita Kuzmin, were the first to grace the stage.

The pair delivered routines including a show dance to 'Rain On Me' by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, a Spanish-inspired dance to 'Dream On' by Aerosmith, and a upbeat dance to 'Proud Mary'.

In another performance, George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr revisited their dramatic dance to 'Game of Survival' by Ruelle.

They also did their show dance to 'Human' by The Killers, and a Viennese Waltz to 'Somebody to Love' by Queen.

But after weeks of ballroom dances, it was Carney and Gu's night as they won the viewer poll.

"I just want to say thank you to everybody that has supported our journey, and supported us," said Carney.

Gu told her she had "changed my life," commenting: "To the young people watching at home, dream big and be proud and never give up."

Other memorable moments on the night included most of the cast of 2025 coming back for one more routine.

However, online figure Thomas Skinner did not attend. He had alleged earlier that the vote that saw him exit the show was unfair.

A representative rejected the claim, saying the show's audience vote was "externally monitored and verified to ensure complete fairness".

The group Five also performed a selection of their popular songs during the finale.

The Hosts' Last Final

In October, Daly and Winkleman made the surprise announcement that they would be stepping down at the end of this year's season.

Daly has hosted since the first series 21 years ago. Winkleman joined in 2014, having fronted Strictly's sister show It Takes Two since 2004.

This was their last time hosting a Strictly final, and both were full of emotion as they said their goodbyes.

During the live broadcast, as well as the message from the Queen, there were recorded notes from TV cook Mary Berry, members of the production team and fans of the show.

The Queen's message read: "I have often thought that Strictly is not so much a show about dancing as about friendships: the bonds forged, the challenges conquered and the happiness shared in undertaking a joint challenge.

"Should that be the case, then perhaps yours has been the most significant Strictly partnership of all.

"The warmth, compassion and pure happiness you have projected with and from each other has been at the heart of the show's appeal."

Daly and Winkleman's last ever show will be the holiday episode, which airs on 25 December.