Strictly '22 #18 — Who's going to lift the glitterball? We don't know, but it will happen in this thread!

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Previous thread

We're moving so fast I'm setting this one up to be ready!

T’was a pity Will didn’t make it to final would’ve brought some much needed zing to the proceedings 😉...

agree, hamza had a personality, a smiley personality

we always focus a lot on the judges reaction, bit unnecessary, it is simply popularity that wins.
i guess they are just relieved the night is over

Actually watching that clip back again Gorkas reaction wasn't as bad as it seemed initially. And it's more like he's composing himself and yes trying not to cry.Still Heken shouldn't have had to lead him to congregate H and M.Good for her.
I wanted her and Gorka to win.But if I'm honest this morning I'm happy Hamza did.For the way he truly let go and his joyful musicality. There were times when I wanted Helen to stop holding back.
I really liked Fleur and Vito -as people and a pairing-but didn't always like the stompy style of her dancing.In the end they were a good bunch this year .And I especially loved seeing the reunion dance .

i was also thinking Gorka may have just been holding back his emotions

I think the judges wanted Helen or Fleur to win ..but they overmarked Hamza all series so they shouldn’t be too surprised 🤔

Usually sad when the strictly run ends but glad it’s over for this year

Yes, and/or exhausted!

Re Hamza winning, I'm sure David Attenborough is going to raise a toast this Xmas, relieved that he can finally retire after centuries of service now that the British public has taken his successor into their hearts.

Clear as the nose on our faces that his warm personality won him the competition but it’s supposed to be a dancing competition after all 🤷‍♀️
I suppose at least it prevents the annual tedious accusations of racism about the results.

He did learn to dance though. I'm glad a non dancer won.

So glad Hamza won, I loved his dancing so natural flowing and rhythmic, the African inspired dance was a triumph.
Molly improved so much but left it a bit late for me to warm to her, not Fleurs biggest fan, thought she was stompy and over marked by judges , Helen could be a bit stiff at times in the upper body but that her mien Herr dance suited her style and was really good.
Agree that couples choice could go and be kept for the final.

Agree with a poster way upthread about the length of the dances especially the show dance . In Hamza's case it had only really got stared then it finished. So there was the mistake, a bit of middle ground, then a very very brief wow bit at the end.

When I've watched clips of past dances linked on here they seem to be longer

It has not been a dancing competition since they allowed public the final say.

Indeed. Hamza was quite average imo but the judges, especially Shirley, raved like they'd never seen anyone so great before. In earlier weeks everyone went on about Hamza being their obvious favourite, and Shirley taking against Fleur, so I'm surprised it seemed the other way round last night.

the judges were full of priase for all of them,
i dont bleieve the judges wanted particularly fleur or helen to win,
everyone knew by last time HAmza was the favourite with Helen creeping up,

got a bit fed up with the Helen divorced woman angle by the end, i ddnt warm to her, despite trying

Hamza had been the favourite to win for weeks so not sure why the judges or Gorka would be surprised.

I tipped him to win in week 1. He was surprisingly light on his feet for someone of his size and seemed a lovely man. His niceness and his pure joy at dancing just increased week on week.

Molly and Fleur both seemed to love dancing (Fleur was too stompy for me) but Helen never seemed to show joy at dancing

I still can't get over Molly and Carlos and their showdance outfits 🤣 Who in their right minds would think that was a good look? Or comfortable for dancing? Mind boggles.

The judges and other contestants surely must read who is the favourite to win.

It's not a professional dance competition,it's a reality TV show where the public are allowed to pick their favourites and they chose Hamza.

Isn't he being lined up to be the next David Attenborough? I wonder if he was always going to win 🤔

To be fair to Helen, her bastard ex wasn't mentioned once on the show - the only explicit narrative on screen was that she was a lone mum of three small kids which was tough, and her parents were giving her a lot of support. There was an ongoing "Helen regains her confidence" narrative, but if you didn't know better that could just be Louise Redknapp mark 2.

And I don't think she's given any interviews on the subject - we're all filling in the background on the basis of what her ex's new partner has posted on Instagram.

It's not like the various bereaved contestants who've told their stories directly to camera in VTs. But of course Helen's children will be watching every show, so it's entirely understandable that she would veto any producer suggestion that she should slag off their dad on air.

Watching on catch up... Took so long for beeb to get it up on iplayer. Helen my favourite but Hamza such a lovely man. Not a vintage year.

How is this possible with an independently verified public vote? The BBC is subject to regulatory scrutiny. I doubt they would massage something like this, that can be objectively checked, and would involve accusations of fraud if they did try to skew the figures in favour of one contestant. It's a flagship show, why would they risk it? If the BBC wants Hamza to be the next David Attenborough, they don't need to stick him in a dance contest to do it. They can just, you know, give him all the flag ship wildlife shows to present.

Well, apart from the mouthing the lyrics of Mein Herr into the camera, no, Helen never mentioned that her husband is scum.

Molly is such a talented dancer - I wish her showdance had been a combination of charleston, jive, and theatre. Think that would have suited her better. She never would have won, but I think she could have had a wow moment.

I will always love her rumba - it's one of the few dances this series that I have watched back.

The Strictly look back special on ch 5 was very good. Loved seeing past pros (Ian, Erin, Camilla) giving their views on the show.

It's mad that Molly, who was an amazing dancer, giving it her all, was the only finalist to end up without a perfect score. But I can see how it happened.