...now that the judges gave their "apparent" favourites Louise & Kevin their most exposed dance as their choice?

It's all gone quiet over here...

I wasn't like last year when the judges marked anyone but Jay with four 10s.

They are on the Daily Mail website!

it's gone quite on Twitter too, I guess everyone is still in shock

I am inclined to agree about Louise being disregarded but not into fix claims. Why give Danny a 40 scoring Samba, Ore his iconic AS and Louise that? Why not the Waltz that was beautiful?

I honestly think that for once the majority of people agree with who was the better dancer on the night. Ore might not have been a forum favorite but, tonight most fair-minded people are acknowledging he bought his A game to the final and there was very little Louis and Danny could do about it.

Louise was thrown under the bus with the Judges' Choices.

Some tried to claim since she won the Cha Cha Challenge, it was a bias! Sorry, but...

I think most of the conspiracy theorists turned their attention to Ore after his first dance tonight

because Ore was the best dancer tonight

Danny messed up

Louise was her same bland, boring, beige self

Ore knocked it out of the park tonight

There's a thread on DS which compares Ore's win to the BBC's alleged cover-up of Jimmy Saville's crimes.

Scary!

I agree the cha cha was not a good choice for Louise. The Quick Step was a good choice for Danny but I think by changing it as they did (cutting out the bit at the top and adding steps) they overcomplicated an extra busy week. Their showdance was also brilliant and challenging so if they lost because they pushed boundaries and always challenged themselves I can take it.

But Ore's judges choice of Singin' in the Rain with a specially invited Gene Kelly's widow to give us all that warm fuzzy feeling...

Because Ore danced BRILLIANTLY tonight and with his heart and soul.

And Joanne put together a magnificent showdance.

And everyone knows it really.

Funny thing is,I didn't like that routine the first time around or in the final;it showed up his stylistic deficiencies.

This entirely.

I believe, based in that final alone, Ore to be one of the most deserving winners if you are just looking at their performace levels on the night.

How many who have won have been that good across the board in all three dances? There is usually one or even two that have a couple of errors or a big mistake or a bit of a silly show dance.

Ore swept the final away with this standard.

OP, I really felt for Louise being given her cha cha, it really was a bad choice from the judges, she never could have gotten anywhere near full marks for it.
Both Danny and Ore were given dances they adored, ones they would have considered picking for their favourite.

Actually from the brief clip they showed tonight seems she was pretty good in the Challenge thingy, but sadly the repeat of her own cha cha was no better at all than first time around.

The judges' picks certainly did put her at a disadvantage, I thought. Enjoyed her reprise of the AT though - she really does that well.

Er, they didn't - they gave him his 36-scoring Quickstep...

The judges said Louise's Cha Cha Cha had the potential to be 10s all round - it needed that added snap-hip action!... which sadly just wasn't there

She looked really tired and ready for it to be over. I have championed her and Kevin this series but the final week you really need to give it everything and she just didn't have enough reserve left in the tank for that WOW moment... it's sad but true.

Even the Show dance which I personally loved, didn't reach the level of 'Oh My God! I must vote for them!!' - You used to see that a few years ago... but Strictly has changed and it's quite different now with all these accusations of "ringers, 13 hours training... etc"

There's no fix as the best couple on the night won. Danny made mistakes and Louise was tired... shame but there it is

Just an added note in their Argentine Tango, which I also LOVED! both times! Louise's leg lift with the table wasn't as impressive the second time... sometimes things like that only have a 'wow' moment once...

So my take on it:

Louise is the only finalist not to be in a dance off but is the weakest of the three and they didn't really want her to win over the other two. They gave her a dodgy choice for the first dance, scored her accordingly. They did not expect Danny to make errors on his first dance.

By the show dance, they once again picked fault with Louise and used this as an opportunity to put Danny back up the score board.

They then gave them all full marks for their final dance.

I don't think it was fixed as such, but I do think they gave Louise a bad choice for a first dance to dent her ranking and influence votes towards the boys.

I totally agree - he was the best on the night.

I think the fix claims have been ridiculous frankly. There was a lot of cries of a fix for Louise but she certainly didn't get the best draw on the judges' choice tonight. And didn't deserve to win either as I found her a bit lacklustre. Danny got the pimp slot, 2 of his best dances but wasn't the best on the night in my opinion.

It's ridiculous to suggest that the producers care who wins at this point. Their primary concern is ratings (as it should be) - I'm sure they couldn't give a flying fig who won tonight. And eg the headlines earlier in the series saying that they wanted Ed out were madness - err, he was being talked about everywhere, was no doubt bringing in the ratings - I'm sure they were thrilled that he got as far as he did!

I think you are severely over-estimating how much they'd care who wins at this point!! They judges may have individual personal preferences, but in terms of the "judges" as a body, or the producers or the "show" - really, I doubt they cared who won.

My bad

What can I say, I'm tired and emotional.

But again there was no fix, Ore had it in the bag.

drunk alert
favouritism on hold try and answer these questions honestly
who is the best dancer tecnichally - most would agree danny
who has improved the most most would agree ore
who should have won based on the best overall dancer from day one - danny
(if so why have a final ?)
who was the best on the final night in which we as the public should surely ignor what has gone on before and judge what we see on final night? winner = ore
or shoukd we ignore final night and in fact turn off ourtr tv;s a week ago and vote for danny just klike jay last year? winner danny

danny west end musical exp to dancer - massive improvement
ore didn't dance at own wedding 1 year ago to outdancing danny 2/3 - obvious winner##

best technical dancer danny
spirit of strictly winner - ore#
best dancer on the noight# - ore
best chemistry best choreography best silk purse out of a sows ear - joanne


only one winner imho

I don't dispute she did well in the Cha Cha Challenge - that's not what I meant.

Giving her the Cha Cha Cha was unfair when compared to Danny getting QS and Ore AS - two of the most talked about and popular dances of the series. Louise's CCC was not particularly popular the first time around, not to mention that it is a dance that generally lacks 'wow' factor.

It would have been fairer to have given Louise her AS, or her Paso (admittedly not possible as it was a big Blackpool number with extra dancers) or even her VW. The impact of those dances was more on a par with the original impact of Danny's QS and Ore's AS.

I wouldn't be so sure. I remember watching the final last year, and although I understand Jay has a strong fan base, he was very hit and miss in my opinion. His show dance was limp and not very 'showy.' Kellie and Kevin on the other hand were excellent in the final - especially their show dance. When Jay won it was a bit of an odd tv moment as he was lacklustre in the actual final.

I don't think they wanted a repeat of that. Whilst any of the three would be good winners, Louise was not as good as the boys and as a result, I think they wanted the winner to be someone who properly wowed on the night - which was Ore!

Why? Because everyone assumed Danny would win?

The usual pimp slot isn't the pimp slot in the final. The lines open after everybody has danced their first dance but many people wait until they have seen the showdance to vote, therefore the earlier you dance the better in the final.