What a simply spectacular series this has been. My goodness, Strictly Come Dancing 2019 will certainly go down in history for me as a record-breaker! Tens at last… highest scores ever… and going all the way to the Grand Final. In so many ways I feel like a winner… but of course, my real winner is Emma – without whom I’m sure I wouldn’t be writing this now. What a privilege it’s been to perform with her each week – and a thrill for us to receive such wonderful support from you all in return. Over the past 15 years I’ve had the great pleasure of dancing with a succession of fabulous celebrity partners, but this year, the stars really did align!
In our very last week of Strictly 2019, the pure elation of making it through from the Semi Finals into the final three alongside Karim & Amy and Kelvin & Oti quickly turned to nervous excitement as we began to learn and polish not one… not two… but three dances for the Saturday live show!
Now, two of these were reprises of numbers from previous weeks, but the third was a terrific showdance which I felt would play to all Emma’s dancefloor strengths. Whatever was to happen on the night, we were to go out with a bang! This wasn’t a night to hold back – and I had a feeling these three dances would be real crowdpleasers to give us a winning shot at that Glitterball Trophy!
For our first dance, the judges had chosen our Charleston from Musicals week. We’d scored a wonderful 39 in week 11 and had high hopes of raising this to the perfect 40 – even Craig had said that he’d have his ’10’ paddle at the ready!
Thoroughly Modern and packed with swivel. 👏 No wonder the Judges wanted to see @EmmaBarton and @TheAntonDuBeke's Charleston again! #StrictlyFinal pic.twitter.com/w9P1SNGWIu
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 14, 2019
Once again, Emma nailed it. Well and truly. She danced it beautifully – back to the Twenties in our bid for a 40! We both loved performing this number and what a dance to kick off our campaign for the Title. Such a pacey number, it felt like it was over in a flash – and then the audience, along with Motsi and Shirley, were all on their feet!
Bruno said Emma was his “favourite flapper ever!” Craig said the routine was “fantastic” and would be “at home in the West End.” Motsi loved the detail and energy, and Shirley got back on her feet to applaud the “last lady standing,” in one of the most enjoyable Charlestons she said she ever seen… and even said I was fabulous!
We were of course hoping for a nice round 40 when the scores came, but who could grumble at a 39! (Actually, we were both rather relieved that we hadn’t scored less than last time!)
Then came our Showdance: a Fred & Ginger-inspired Hollywood number packed with panache, glamour, glitz… and props – with a cane-ography middle section! Lots of work to do on getting this routine polished ready for the big show, but again, another fabulously fun dance to keep things on a high. Emma came in from on high, too, as she descended from the rafters on a moon! This number was just my cup of tea, a real classic from the golden age… and right up Emma’s street – she loved it – the theatricality of it but also the sheer exuberance of the dance. It really was a delight to perform!
Classic, classy and quintessentially #Strictly. A Showdance full of showmanship from @EmmaBarton and @TheAntonDuBeke. ✨ #StrictlyFinal pic.twitter.com/c98SWWvQbc
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 14, 2019
Another standing ovation – including Shirley once again who said she totally enjoyed it! “Hooray for Hollywood!” announced Bruno… Craig: “all-out, full-on Hollywood – I loved the dance!”… Motsi: “classy, like a timepiece from the good old dancing that we love!”
As for the scores, Craig started with an 8 (sync issues, apparently), but the others all held their 10s aloft! More 10s! I was in heaven!!
Then came our very last dance of the series. My last Strictly dance with Emma. This, I knew, had to be one to pull the heart strings. Together we decided that our week 4 Viennese Waltz to ‘Send In The Clowns’ was the perfect number for our finalé. Something pure, classic, theatrical, and beautifully moving.
💖 "Send in the Clowns…" @EmmaBarton and @TheAntonDuBeke's final dance is full to the brim with emotion. #StrictlyFinal pic.twitter.com/9DcUAEZdSp
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 14, 2019
Every step, turn, phrase, expression, touch, pause… everything was choreographed to convey meaning and enact the story of the song. It was such a pleasure to perform this with Emma, a privilege in fact. Just perfect for us to end our Strictly journey with this, as our last, most beautiful dance – and at the end as the music drifted into rapturous applause, we took a moment to take it all in – before heading over to the Judges for our very last critiques.
Motsi – “Absolutely stunning”… Shirley loved the sensitivity and beauty of the dance, “soft, slow, quiet, stunning.” Bruno said the storytelling was immaculate and acted extremely well – and the dancing was just as good – “Musicality, phrasing… absolutely beautiful!” Craig had apparently found some missed heels, but summed up with “Class beyond class… so very beautiful and gorgeous.”
A 9 from Craig and 3 more marvellous tens gave us another 39. (Alas, no ten from Craig after our three dances, despite our very best efforts. That perfect 40 will have to be saved for another series!)
So, after all three couples had danced their three dances – and what simply fabulous dances they all were – we placed third on the final leaderboard.
What a nail-biting wait we all had whilst the voting and counting was going on! The viewers had the incredible prerecorded group dance to help with the suspense – such a feat of choreography – combining the best bits of everyone’s dances…
…followed by a marvellous performance from Taylor Swift, whilst everything was being organised to announce the winner!
A superstar moment for the superb #StrictlyFinal. Thanks for a glittering performance @taylorswift13. ✨ pic.twitter.com/X4blgQOLg6
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 14, 2019
When the announcement came, it was a rather surreal moment. We’d taken our places and the audience were clapping out a rhythm which I’m sure was only half as fast as our heart rates. I knew there might be a chance of our names being called – I’d never given up hope of that… but I also knew that to reach the final three, and to take part in the Grand Final was such a remarkable achievement. Each couple was truly a winner in their own right, and to be stood there at the final reckoning after pairing up with our non-dancer partners three months prior, was an immense reward in itself.
After a pause which felt like an eternity, Kelvin and Oti’s names were announced, and our 2019 Strictly Champions were crowned!…
Our last-minute arrival has only gone and won the #Strictly Glitterball! Kelvin and Oti are your 2019 #StrictlyFinal winners! 👏🎉 @kelvin_fletcher @OtiMabuse pic.twitter.com/MZ27CGbyPA
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 14, 2019
What incredibly worthy winners indeed. And what magnificent dances they’d given us – not just in the Final… but every single week of the competition without fail. What an achievement!
Karim and Amy are of course to be congratulated too, for all the marvellous and mesmerising performances they’ve given us over the weeks – such a joy to watch.
But, to Emma: my Strictly Queen of Ballroom, my Grand Finalist, my dance partner… my friend: you put your heart and soul into every dance, each a pure joy to perform with you. You’re my winner!
Strictly 2019 has been the most wonderful experience, quite simply because of Emma. Never before have I scored a ten on the show – let alone fifteen of them! Nor have I reached the lofty heights of 39 points – not once, not twice, but thrice! Just incredible. To have a partner who gives her all to each dance is all I could ever ask for on this show… but for that partner to take flight and blossom into a wonderful 10-point Grand Finalist dancer takes Strictly to a whole new level for me. And for that, and her wonderful spirit, enthusiasm and personality, I am both incredibly lucky and incredibly grateful. Long may she continue to dance!
Huge thanks are also due to you, my loves, for all your marvellous support – and votes! – this series. You saved us from the dance off when it was looking dicey on the leaderboard on a number of occasions; we sailed through from one week to the next all thanks to you. It gave us both an incredible boost each week to know that the public was behind us – it meant such a lot, and I’m sure played a huge part in building Emma’s confidence in dancing to allow her acting skills to come to the fore and her performances come to life so very beautifully.
The Glitterball Trophy wasn’t to be, this year… but whilst I’m still dancing, and as long as the BBC keep inviting me back, I’ll keep having a crack at it!
And so, after a very busy and exciting year, I’m looking forward to a lovely Christmas break with my family – and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas too. Hopefully you’ll be whisked away to the Buckingham Hotel for a rendezvous with Raymond De Guise if you’ve received one of my novels – ‘One Enchanted Evening‘ and ‘Moonlight Over Mayfair‘ – as a gift! Enjoy, if so, and do let me know what you think! Likewise with my favourite moments on DVD with “Anton’s Truly Madly Strictly!”
I’ll be back in rehearsals before I know it as Erin and I prepare for our 2020 Tour which runs 24th January to 22nd March as we ‘Dance Those Magical Movies‘ – we so look forward to seeing you in the audience in theatres up and down the country this coming Spring!
I’ll sign off now, but once again, thank you so very, very much for your marvellous support, my loves, and here’s wishing you a wonderfully Happy Christmas – and a truly tremendous New Year!
