Saturday 19 December 2020

Yes Bill, he can boogie!

We made it! Welcome to our final blog of the series in the weirdest year of all (apart from maybe series 7), so glad you could join us. It's been emotional, it's been crazy, it's been covid-compliant, but most of all it's been Strictly and we should thank our lucky stars for that.

There may have been some questionable music choices, way too much theme-age and the hell-on-earth that is Couple's Choice*, but I AM SO GLAD that BBC managed to make Strictly happen this year. The sheer normality of this show being on has been a joy for millions.

*I actually make an exception for Bill's which, against my better judgement, I found myself loving.
 
As ever, we're not going to discuss dances that have already been done. A whistle-stop tour tells us that Harvey brought some extra sharpness to his jive despite his twiglet legs, Jamie brought his infectious fun to the Charleston, Bill tripped the light fantastic in his improved quickstep, but Maisie definitely brought the house down with her rip-roaring samba!

Harvey and Janette
I was expecting this to be a disco-showdance with extra lifts, and that's pretty much what we got! It was Harvey in a nutshell, fast and precise and modern. However, it didn't blow me away, the lifts broke up the flow of the routine in a few places and it just didn't seem like anything new. As ever, it was technically achieved, but whether it connected with people is another matter.

The best Strictly winners have the perfect balance of technique, performance and heart. Harvey's natural dance talent shone through from the start, and - perhaps tied with Maisie - was the best dancer of the series. Perhaps. But for me, he didn't quite improve enough from beginning to end, and I didn't connect to his showdance . 

Jamie and Karen
This was also Jamie in a nutshell; over-excited, bonkers, but still dancing away like your life depends on it. The flying interlude at the start was unnecessary but hilarious and they managed to keep up the energy levels throughout the whole thing. Jamie and Karen work so well as team and this was their joyous goodbye to the series - thanks for so much fun along the way!

While many think Jamie shouldn't have been in the final, I do not feel that strongly about it. What Jamie exemplified this year was pluck, springing back and working hard. He came out week after week and put on a show, with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step. I can't knock that. This dance was very.... him. I think they will have known that a win would be unlikely and they just had fun. 

Bill and Oti
I was genuinely nervous about this dance, as I expected the to take a fair few risks, but this totally fell into the 'bonkers-awesome' category! There was plenty of content and classic dancing, but also the excitement and daring that makes us whoop for a showdance. The pyrotechnics and Oti flying was just the icing on the cake, it was so ambitious but they certainly pulled it off!

Bill's showdance - out of all of them - was the one that stood out as being different from the other two dances he was down to do, yet it showcased skills he had learned throughout the series. Bill's other standout dance was the paso so it was perfect to bring that in here. This dance made me feel in a way the others didn't, and in a final, that can be what leads me vote...

Maisie and Gorka
I was so happy when I discovered they were doing a Christmas routine, it's just what we needed to top off the final this year. The whole routine was ridiculously charming from start to finish, it was light and fun and sparkly. The fact that this was ballroom-based was also impressive and shows how much she's come along in the competition, plus that glorious dress made her look stunning. 

This was peppy, cute and perfectly danced. I love that Maisie took to the ballroom and showcased her skills in that area, having previously felt it wasn't really her thing. I would have been absolutely happy with a Maisie or a Bill win ...

Slogging towards the final dances, Harvey razzmatazzed his heart out in the American Smooth, Karen and Jamie made a daft choice with the Couple's Choice but I still laughed, Bill and Oti did the only couples choice ever worth talking about, while Maisie and Gorka took things out with a bang with that perfect quickstep. Who else is totally exhausted now?

Special shout-out to Nicola and Katya for coming back with a showdance that was much better than it needed to be, I feel like we really missed out on something there. Bloody Covid. But of course, we still had the customary car-crash group number for the year! It was as brilliant as ever, even with social distancing, we had highlights including Caroline's pussy, Jason standing still, JJ on a bike, I loved every second.

Just want to chip in here to say how much I loved that Nicola and Katya were allowed a final dance. I really loved it too. 

But of course, series have to end, we came to the big moment and the winner was.... BILL! Congratulations to the two of them for always delivering something different and bringing us such joy all series. Plus Oti is now a record-breaker! You love to see it. Also congratulations to everyone at the BBC who made this series happen, it's definitely been worth it.

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