From the Press Association in last 30 mins

Kara Tointon treated in hospital
(UKPA) – 30 minutes ago
Strictly winner Kara Tointon danced through the pain of an arm injury to take the coveted glitterball trophy - only to find herself celebrating her triumph in A&E.
The former EastEnder, who damaged her wrist during training, said going on to perform an acrobatic show dance was "the most painful thing I've ever done".
The elated champion has had to be whisked to hospital where medics revealed she had torn ligaments in her lower arm.
The 27-year-old, who is recovering at home with her arm in a sling, said she was now looking forward to spending time with dance partner Artem Chigvintsev - and hinted at a developing romance between the two.
The actress, who has previously remained tight-lipped about the nature of their relationship, said she would be having dinner with the Russian-born dancer at her parents' home in north London.
"I think we are going to literally not go anywhere today. It'll be quite nice," she said. "He's going to cook for me in my mum and dad's kitchen. They've met him and they all get on so well."
Asked whether the pair were now officially an item, she said: "Fingers crossed. We will see what happens."

The injury looked as if it occurred during their showdance; not that she let it show in the A.Smooth. A real trouper, and a worthy winner.

She certainly didn't look as though she was dancing with an injured until after the showdance - so I'd be very surprised if the damage was done during training.

ok dinner at my parents house isn't exactly my idea of romance but never mind

I think it was during the back flip , her whole demenour changed from that moment on and she looked to be very shook .
Well Done Kara for carrying on and taking the glitter ball .

Maybe the parents will need to go out urgently after dinner to do stuff .

Maybe it was a minor injury in training that worsened in the show dance?

I wish the news media would take the time to ensure what they are writing is correct. Last night whilst listening to Radio 4 in bed, the news came on and declared Kara and Artem had won 'after receiving a perfect score for a Viennese Waltz'.

How hard is it for the news editors to actually get their facts right? I wouldn't have thought it would be too hard, yet they still managed to get it wrong.

Kara was much more relaxed dancing the Rumba. You can see her wrist crumple slightly when she did the backflip in the show dance - after that it all went a little wrong. She mentioned the injury in the Tesspit, looked more tense, and was holding her damaged arm. She danced the waltz and the AS with the new and painful injury - what great inner strength and dedication she has. A true Champ!

Don't get me started on this!

And if they can get such simple, easily verifiable fact wrong then how can we trust that the rest of the news is correct?

backflip was insane
like whip and cane
like snow and rain
gimmicks I disdain

Kara in the fast lane
no pain no gain
in the end and in the main
Strictly won again

I am beginning to get a bit suspicious that this romance was manufactured to get them more telephone votes. I would not be surprised if their "romance" never gets off the ground. I got the vibes that Kara was rather cooling off Artim during the Final, he seemed all over her and she seemed to talk a lot about their "FRIENDSHIP" after appearing on Loose Woman saying she would love to go out with him etc now suddenly he was just a great friend.

SCD did the same with James (the Chef) and Camilla and it was later admitted by both that the whole thing was a PR stunt to get more media attention as both of them were with partners at the time of their SCD romance. I remember Claudia even interviewed Brendan to ask him how he felt about James LOL!!!!!!!!!l. Anything for headlines and tele votes!!! Perhaps the only thing wrong with Kara was the pain she was in from her injury. I was rather irritated by the Ali and Brian "romance" that disappeared as soon as their West End Show finished!!. They appeared on Lorraine to talk about the West End dance show, going on about their love for each other and how it was for keeps only to separate a few months later!!! Obviously there was no more money to be rung out of the "romance"!! Silly us, eh, believing it all.

I think it can only be laziness, because as you say it was such an easily verifiable fact. It is especially poor when you think that Radio 4 and SCD are both are under the umbrella of the BBC.

Although, of course, there is also the valid theory that they did have an actual romance but that working together so closely caused problems which resulted in a split. It doesn't necessarily follow that they were making it up just because it ended when their show did.

You could be right, but then again it might be that she is being cautious because of the public scrutiny of their relationship. Both have been coy about the romance, only really admitting they'd go out once the series was over.

Personally I think it is genuine, and hope it all works out for them.

I think the Brian and Ali romance was genuine at first but probably ended long before they said it had. They kept it going for the show they were doing.

I think Artem and Kara do fancy each other but (as with Brian and Ali) calling it a 'romance' is sugar coating it a bit. They just fancy each other. No big deal if it doesn't amount to anything.

Weren't they declared officially an item weeks ago? Sure I remember it being brought up on the programme then.

He's clearly besotted with her. Wonder if it will still be as romantic out of the public eye?

But good luck to em anyway.

There might just be a rule in their contracts to the effect that any personal relationship between couples is "strictly" not allowed during the competition, hence their reluctance to go public. Just my thoughts before someone jumps down my throat for airing my view!

Oh poor Kara. Torn ligaments are so painful. I wish her a speedy recovery.

I think the Ali/Brian romance was genuine - at least initially.

I'm not sure about Kara/Artem. I think they're attracted to each other, but I don't the impression that either heart skips a beat when they're together no matter how romantic the dance. Still lots of great romances have started out as friendship - often the best basis for a long term relationship.

Or sometimes you meet someone and it's just sex. Not a romance, which I suspect is what it is between Kara and Artem. But in SCD/Tess world it has to be romance

Why would a manufactured romance get Kara and Artem more votes?

I fail to see the logic in that. I do, however, see that it might get Strictly more publicity and that, I suspect, is the real reason for its presence. Like any narrative, 'Will they, won't they?' is a familiar element and that is why the producers jumped on it. They want higher ratings - end of story.

As part of their contracts, Kara and Artem will have had to go along with it - even though it's clear neither of them was that comfortable carrying out a real courtship in front of television cameras (which is kind of understandable, really). So I think that explains any reticence you may have detected.

From everything we've see, I think there is genuine chemistry there - we've seen that on and off the dancefloor. Whether or not it will lead anywhere is another thing. But at least the Strictly producers won't be there, trying to stage people's reactions.

But it could never be about money: the BBC doesn't make a profit from the phone vote - this isn't like The X Factor ...

The way Kara pushed Artim away during their AS was a little on the heavy side. I thought it was more than acting going on.

I got the feeling he was like a fawning puppy dog and it was beginning to irritate her

I got the feeling that Kara was in pain ,barely keeping it together , putting her energy into making it to the end of the evening before keeling over . I also think Kara is a very private person and maybe aware how the gutter press would pounce on any move she made .,
The kiss at the end and her words said more than anything for me .