Yep, very good show. Liked how Denise got that last boost as well - she will be a lot happier now to know she didn't come last in the viewer vote.

Well done Jill and Darren. Roll on SCD 3!

Yeh, the best pair won, but it was defeat most honourable for Denise & Ian. Roll on on the 22nd, and the Champion of Champions show!

Sonny and Cher originally sang I've got you Babe but it is being covered this year by Avid Merrion, Davina McCall and Patsy Kensit!!!

So glad that Julian didn't win. Jill and Darren deserved it.

Well what a surprise Jill and Darren won

I love the way they said "you danced like a true professional" probably because...well...she is

Still I guess they were the best - I say good on Denise though for her spectacular dance and also to my beloved Julian and Erin - they did fab to get third

What an electric grand finale for such a fantastic show. Jill and Darren were the best couple and very worthy winners. Denise and Ian were great too but just didn't have the public on their side and as for Julian, Erin did a great job with him and he danced his best dance by far tonight.

We'll have a bit of a wait now for the third series, but it will be worth it.

I love SCD but I felt tonight that Jill and Darren got too much publicity and so it was favourable towards them. I think Denise and Julian were under represented in the show and there were too many references to Jill, Jill and even more Jill. Here jive was good but not a 40 surely?

Couple of comments:-
I think Jill and Darren's jive was worth 40. I couldn't fault them.

There are lots of great Ballroom teachers out there! (Depending on where you live there is a contact list on the bbc website or you can contact www.ncdta.com or www.idta.co.uk for qualified dance teachers.

I do feel it was a shame the judges were so hard on Julian and Erin. They did deserve to be in that final though so did Aled and Lila. They have improved so much and had so much to deal with conquering Julian's fears too. Aled at least wanted to learn!

Maybe the next series they could have a contest between the male and female celebrities up to the final... i.e. each week knock out the worst celebrity male & female from the competition etc... so that it is fairer for the men in the contest.

The crowd at Blackpool showed how Jill and Darren winning was the right decision. When Bruce asked the crowd if Denise's showdance was a winner.. they clapped politely. When he asked the same after Jill's dance the crowd cheered and screamed. ANd again I will say YES Jill and Darrren's jive was worth 40!

If they do another series I personally would rather see a more level playing field.

No celebs should have a 'dancing history' or they should all have.

Credit where credit is due.
Julian with great tutoring from Erin did brilliantly.

If they voted on the best improvement Julian would have won hands down. Imo he was the winner Jill and Denise were way ahead before the show had even started.

Maybe they should have a vote on best teacher, Erin would have won hands down.

Ok i wasnt gonna post, but i just wanted to say something (ironically enough) in defence and support of the winners;

Jill isnt a professional, she took lessons as a child. Would anyone say Denise and Roger had an unfair advantage because of their superior cardio vascular capacity? I'm sure that is certainly more of a virtue than taking lessons as a 6 yr old...

Ok, and as for that 40, when they first did that dance i happened to be flicking thru tv and was, well, transfixed. Utterly blown away by how amazing Jill's dancing was, and tonight they topped their first performance. The whole point of the show is that ANY dance, be it jive foxtrot or waltz can potentially get 40. And in the judges opinion, and my own albeit limited in term of reference, they couldnt have produced a better jive. THAT's the whole point, about taking the dance, the choreography and the execution as far as possible. Everything was spot on, and well, if EVERYTHING is spot on, and nothing can be faultered, it's danced as well as that particular choreography can be danced and nothing is missing, then what it amounts to is a 10... think about it, if all that amounted to a 9, then what's the point in having 10?

I think Denise summed it up when she said "the better dancers won", very gracious in her not winning (because she was hardly defeated), but (and again i speak from a somewhat ignorant perspective) I do honestly think that Jill's actual execution and steps and stuff on teh floor were better than some of the professional girls...

BTW, how many votes were cast tonight? and on x factor?

Kate said they had more than 8 million votes for the X-Factor.

BBC news site says there were more than 7 million votes cast during the series for SCD. Surely the BBC site made an error and mean more than 7 million votes tonight. They also say they raised £850,000 for Children In Need.

No it's probably for the series - 7 million. That's the thing with SCD it's not all about voting, it's just a bit of fun not to take seriously. It's a success story in attracting the ratings it does beating X factor.

7 million votes over the series probably sounds about right.

I took dancing lessons from the age of about 6 or 7 until the age of 9, but I really don't think that would help me any if I were a celeb trying to take part in SCD!!

I think ballroom dancing along with fox hunting and smoking should be banned. Why you ask, well I'll tell you.

kahio-x, you have hit the nail on the head. I took dancing classes when I was young but no way could I have done what Jill did. Lots of little girls take classes - Denise did too.

I thought they were both great but I really feel that Aled should have been in the final, not Julian who can't dance and isn't remotely funny.

I agree that the best dancers won on the night but we shouldn't be in denial, Jill danced til she was 18 and has said that on TV! She had to choose between becoming a dancer or an actress. I totally agree with the earlier comments about needing a more level playing field from the start. From day one this competition was not about who could win but who could come second behind Jill who was fantastic from the beginning! Not fair!!!

yes but Jill didnt stop dancing till she was 18 . I took dance lessons too as a child but stopped when I was about 14, which would have given me an advantage though I liked watching her it wasnt just about ability it was about fun as well so would it really have mattered who had won?

But Denise was just cocky.

imo erin summed it all up perfectly....the 2 women had someone to lead and guide them through the steps, julian (and aled) had to do it for themselves. absolutely not a level playing field. which is why unless they have a male celeb on the next series who used to dance until he was 18, we will only ever have female winners.

Yes. SCD has consistantly outperformed the X factor every week so far apart from the first. I dunno about the final but whatever it managed, the BBC will have been celebrating last night. It has done incredibly to beat a primetime reality tv singing contest, and whilst the vote counts are lower, this is because SCD does not appeal as much to parts of the teenage girls group that typically jam the phonelines to phone up for their favourite. But, all in all, SCD has beaten the X factor, a marvellous achievement. I loved the show and can't wait to see it back on our screens!

It is a breath of fresh air!

I wasnt aware she had danced THAT long. but i still think she is a worthy winner, and that what she produced was probably far beyond anything she'd done previously...

Am I alone in thinking she danced better than some of the professional? Well what with getting the axe from eastenders (or better still, quit!) she could maybe do half and half!? lol

Also, did she call him a poof-fressional!? lol I though him and Aled's partner were together

Yeah, I found this article pretty interesting

http://www.sundayherald.com/46678

Although the X-factor claims 7 million votes I'd be suprised if that equated to seven milion individuals, I suspect more than a few voted many times for some bizarre reason.

Interesting article.

I completely loved the final last night. Denise and Ian remain my favourites, but Jill was a worthy winner, I was just so pleased that she made it to the final two. I loved every second of this, apart from Aled not making the final, which he completely deserved to. Not that I missed her at all, but does anyone know why Carole Vordaman wasn't there last night?