https://twitter.com/pernicegiovann1/...44078050119681

And it's nice that Gio is super exaited for the finals and has wished all the pro dancer finalists well. Lovely.

If anyone is particularly interested in the Pro-Celeb Christmas Lunch seating plan..

Ed sat at one end of the table, AJ at the other end of the table. Brendan and Anton sat pretty much in the middle on opposite sides and were very much 'hosting' the lunch. I've lined up the people who sat opposite each other.

Ed
?Chloe .... (? - Matt Flint choreographer maybe)
? (Lady) .... Neil Jones
Naga .... Melvin
Brendan .... Laura
Gorka .... Anton
Gio .... Katya Jones
Daisy .... Janette
Greg .... Alijaz
AJ

So.. nice to see the table mixing it up a bit and the pros not automatically sitting with their celeb partners. Ed not sitting next to Katya, Daisy not next to Alijaz but opposite Janette and Gio near to Laura but not opposite. All seems fine to me. Natalie turned up later for drinks. No Pasha, Karen Clifton, Anastacia, Judge Rinder or Claudia. Or indeed Will Young.

I feel the need to Unappreciate men wearing woolly hats (Gorka, Greg) or baseball caps (AJ, Neil Jones) at the dining table. That wouldn't happen in the Lavender household (clutches pearls in horror etc).

Sorry you are going to miss the final jivingmissdaisy. Thank you for info re Aberdeen event. That is where I live!!! I am beginning like Gio more and more( if that is possible!). The man has taste Actually we still have a ballroom and a beautiful theatre so there is no excuse other than the distance so not everyone braves it as far north as Aberdeen to perform. We also have a beautiful beach but you have to be brave to swim in the North Sea other than the middle of the summer.

Yes Lady Lavender I am going to see the Strictly tour but I have to travel to Glasgow to see it. I had to travel to Edinburgh to see the Keep Dancing show. Both require a three hour car journey and an overnight stay unless you go to a matinee performance.

Issfan - you must be a contender for the annual Most Appreciative award That is dedication to the support of Gio!

Laura did a little radio interview today on the subject of Strictly with Marian Finucane of RTE - live from hair and makeup at Elstree.

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/

If you scroll down, you can see a link to the 7 minute clip.

She talks about overtraining causing her injury, life in the Strictly bubble, how close the contestants are this year, Ed Balls Ed Balls singing , the group dance, Len Goodman, and a bit about her play. Apparently her physio session this week was the last one.

And the last 'Walk of Strictly' as the contestants are filmed leaving their hotel on the way to the finals.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...ing-final.html

Claudia F gets the Keep Smiling award for the biggest, sunniest sunbeam of a smile.

Natalie Lowe gets the Geordie Shore award for wearing only a tiny, tiny training vest and an impeccable tan. Outdoors. On December 17. What a woman

Katya Jones gets the 'Best Pompom award' as well as the 'My husband will buy me a new one...' award for putting a full cup of coffee... inside her Louis Vuitton handbag

And Gio.... wins the 'Italian style' award for wearing entirely black but colour co-ordinating his accessories (his Bose headphones and luggage both are black with metallic blue accents).

Enjoy the show tonight everyone.

Morning (where is the 'hungover' smiley when you need it??)

Hope everyone enjoyed the show. Managed to find out who won on the last train home (a bit worse for wear lol) but delighted for Ore and Jo, especially as it sounds like they were worthy winners on the night! My mum is a big Ore fan so will be thrilled. Looking forward to catching up later. In the meantime...

Gio with Luba and Jason Gilkison

Three gorgeous smiles 😍😍😍

Clip of Gio and Katya's Cha Cha Cha to Emile Sande - love this, don't they look great dancing together?!

And a lovely photo of it

I bet the after party was fun! I saw some clips of Anastasia performing and Ed tearing up the dancefloor 'gangnam style' but can't find them now

Enjoyed the final last night. It was a lovely sparkly affair. None of the negativity of last year.

Felt for Danny when he messed up his wonderful QS. Was never a fan of Louise and Kevin but I thought the judges gave her a tough routine which showed up her weaknesses. Her cha cha technique had improved but it still lacked oomph. Ore and Danny both got routines that were high scorers. I loved Ore's showdance. Just the kind of dancing I enjoy and Ore does that style it so well.

The unexpected highlight for me came towards the end. Just when I was getting fed up with all the fillers the beautiful singing voice of Emile Sande started and just to top it all Gio and Oksana appeared. What a treat that cha cha was. Absolutely loved it. I also loved the routine the pros did for Len. Absolutely beautiful. My hope was the pro guys would be in tails for one of their routines so I was thrilled.

I am with you Issfan - I felt that they had learned from last year's rather mean-spirited final and made the whole show feel warm and joyous - it was a pleasure to watch.

I was absolutely not expecting Ore and Joanne to win but, on the night, it was a good outcome. His showdance was a real treat, the Singing in the Rain routine was one of my favourites of the series and his jive was a fire-cracker. So, I think he danced it best on the night - and I LOVE his parents - his mum was beaming from ear to ear which was lovely to see. I felt for Kevin but Louise just wasn't quite at the same level as Ore and Danny. And poor Danny..... he danced so brilliantly all series. I wonder how close the public vote was in the end.

The pro ballroom routine was absolutely magical... loved it. And when Gio turned up for the Emeli Sande song.... what a treat indeed. And that was a superb, superb cha cha cha- with Katya though wasn't it? If Gio's tour has routines like that, it will be absolutely fab. And there is a bit of prestige in being given the closing guest artist dance for the final, so the producers must think that both Katya and Gio have done well this year.

AJ's Instagram stories have the Gangnam clip!

Lovely links MissD - that Cha Cha Cha pic is terrific - hadn't seen that one!

Laura has posted a nice group shot from the wrap party..

https://twitter.com/thewhitmore/stat...64500289773568

After Claudia's exit Giovanni very much saved the final for me last night. My highlights were his pro dance with the wonderful Katya and then to top it off Claudia finishing the reunion dance on his shoulder

Gio's Cha Cha Cha with Katya was just stunning - and I wasn't expecting it so it was an extra treat! And there was something very nice about Sicilian Claudia ending up on Gio's shoulder... I enjoyed that finishing touch as well.

hello, thanks for the fab photos, thud x 3 for the second one ..... hope you've recovered a bit


I agree with all you've said here, Danny was my favourite and I was hoping he'd win as his dancing has been great all through the series - and I love Oti's choreography, their samba was one of the best dances I've seen on Strictly and I've been watching since series 1, but all of Ore's dances were superb on the night and, if he really was a complete beginner, then he's done so well and I'm sure he and Joanne were thrilled to see Gene Kelly's widow in the audience

also loved the pro dance tribute to Len - as I said next door - that's what I enjoy, a proper ballroom dance with the men in tails not contemporary gymnastics !

Giovanni and Katya's dance was a pleasant surpise and it was good to see all the celebrities again, but they made it a bit difficult to play "Spot the Giovanni" in the Clauditorium

anyway, it's been a great series which has gone too quickly

You beat me to it LadyLavender. I was about to show off my computer skills again. Lovely relaxed photo.

Poor Claudia is always trying to peep round taller people.

If only their heights had made for a better match they would have made a perfect pairing.

I think Claudia's father would probably have been happier with AJ than Gio

But actually, I am with you on this one - I think it would have been a really good partnership personality wise - but very tricky with the height difference.


I kept losing track of her in the Clauditorium


I wanted Danny and Oti to win - I have enjoyed their dances by far the most of all the finalists this year. But in the end I can see that Ore had a very, very good night last night and I think he might have picked up quite a few of Louise's votes. I wonder how close the vote was?

Lovely photo and Christmas wishes from Arlene Phillips

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOKBS_qA...illipsofficial

Is that an old picture?

I think it is.

I think you may be right about Claudia''s father.

I didn't mind which of the guys won but I did prefer Ore. I felt he connected with the emotion of the dances and I like that. That was the reason I liked Jay last year. Both always looked slightly vulnerable too which appeals to me. However I did feel for Danny last night. I think he will blame himself for losing the competition because of the errors in his QS. I am sure he feels bad for Oti.

A quick catch up before I have to go out again for pre-Christmas obligations (more next week...at this rate I'll be going cold turkey before the thing is even out of the oven!!! Last year seemed a lot quieter...)

A lovely compilation video from the series

Gorka's compilation of after party pics

He does like a duck face good to see him enjoying himself though.

Thank you so much for doing this. My favourite Gio/Laura routine was their walz and I loved the cha cha Gio did with Katya last night to a great cha cha song. I loved all the clips of the pro dances. What a fabulous memory of the whole series

Brilliant picture! He looks happy. And that is clearly Gio after a drink has been taken

Fab, fab compilation video - really enjoyed that.

Ore had a really good night and Jo put together a very good, crowd-pleasing routine for him. I'm happy for them both - they both really, really wanted to win. I hope Danny doesn't blame himself - but I know what you mean. That mistake in the QS was such a shame. I have enjoyed all his dances this year - they were thrilling to watch and I hope he can feel proud of what he achieved. It will be interesting to see how his career goes next year.

He may not be able to feel proud right now but I hope he can in the near future. He should feel very very proud. I think we will see him on the West End sometime soon. I have a feeling his career is about to take off.