Strictly Come Dancing 2024 has crowned its winner, with hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announcing the result live on air during Saturday’s final as Chris McCausland stormed to victory
Chris McCausland has won Strictly Come Dancing 2024, with the result revealed live on Saturday night.
The comedian and his pro dance partner Dianne Buswell burst into tears and celebrated as they were declared this year’s winners after a close final. Moments after sharing how much the win would mean to him, Chris was announced as this series’ champion.
Four couples remained with their final three performances all they could do to pull off a win. But only one couple could be victorious, as announced on air by hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Chris and Dianne, Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley and Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec all made it to the live final after months of live shows and training. As Saturday’s result came in, just one couple was awarded the Glitterball Trophy.
As the result came in, Chris and Dianne were in complete shock and quickly hugged it out. Left in tears, they were applauded by the judges, crowd and their co-stars as Claudia congratulated them.
Their fellow finalists rallied around them and embraced them, as Chris wiped back tears. Dianne was shaking, as the hosts asked Chris about his win.
Tess asked how it felt, with a speechless Chris saying: “It’s astonishing, I don’t know what to say. I thought I would go out in the first week or two. We have lasted and lasted and she has got so much out of me, she deserves this so much.”
Chris McCausland has won Strictly Come Dancing
He added: “This is for her and for everyone out there who thought… who got told they couldn’t do something or thought they couldn’t do it. With opportunity and support and determination anything can happen.” A teary Dianne told him it was “for both of them”, screaming: “We did it!”
Comedian Chris has inspired the whole nation with his performances, as the show’s first ever blind contestant. The way he has taken on the show and progressed his dancing skills, thanks to pro dancer Dianne’s help, has inspired viewers with them constantly heaping praise on the finalist.
In recent weeks the star has shared the obstacles he has faced throughout the series, with Dianne often explaining to the hosts, judges and viewers what they are up against in training. In a moving moment on Saturday night, judge Craig Revel Horwood revealed he finally realised just how much Chris and Dianne had to put into every training session in order to deliver such epic performances, as he visited the training room.
With Chris’ sight loss, Craig was able to see how Dianne trained him to dance and to follow the steps to ensure each routine was done correctly. The judge even wrote Chris a poem, after his newfound appreciation for Chris’ skill having seen how much work it takes to learn each step, direction, and to know what is going on around him.
Chris had previously confessed he put off Strictly for so long as he was unsure he could do it, and he also didn’t want to encourage negative comments. He decided to challenge himself and has gone on to win the entire show, something he wasn’t expecting.
The comedian and his pro dance partner Dianne Buswell burst into tears
Dianne was in tears in a recent episode after another amazing routine, as she detailed how Chris’ “safe space” had been looking at the floor for years, with him now changing his posture completely and seeming confident on the dance floor. It followed some critique about the way he was stood and his frame during his dance.
Ahead of the final, Dianne also shared how he had the disadvantage of not being able to see his fellow finalists, and not knowing how well they could perform as he had not seen a single step by anyone else. At the time, host Tess was so choked with emotion she could barely get the next link out. And Di’s words had a similar effect on all the pro dancers gathered in the Clauditorium.
Viewers had believed they knew who would win the series just hours before the finale on Saturday. Chris and Dianne were this year’s favourites amongst fans to claim victory over the three other pairings.
Taking to X before the live final and before any result was announced, one fan said: “Will win: Chris McCausland.” A second viewer agreed: “Chris will win out of highest quality year yet.” A third added: “There appears to be a consensus that Chris McCausland will win,” while another fan commented of who will win: “It’s obvious Chris & Dianne will win and if they do it’ll be well deserved!”
Comedian Chris has inspired the whole nation with his performancesThe comments kept on coming with another reading: “Genuinely never been so assured someone is going to win strictly before then I do think Chris & Dianne will do this evening.” A further theory read: “I think Chris will pass out if they win though, and Dianne needs some sort of special award for what she has achieved.”
Meanwhile, judge Anton Du Beke praised the series before the live finale as the consensus was it was one of the best series in years. With all four couples taking on three routines this weekend, Anton called this year’s series “magical”.
Co-judge Motsi Mabuse described the series as “one of the most exciting ever” and felt that all the finalists brought “something so unique to the competition”. She continued: “It’s been a joy to watch them grow. They really raised the bar this year. Heading to the final, it’s going to be a tough decision because each finalist brings magic to the dance floor. It’ll be a celebration of their talent and hard work and I can’t wait to see what they all deliver on Saturday night.”
