Strictly's Motsi Mabuse on her first UK Christmas and why ‘only God knows’ if she will have a second child

It's only been just over a week since the hit dance competition wrapped up its 2023 series but there is still plenty of glitter and sparkles left for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

Strictly Come Dancing winner Ellie Leach appeared cheery as she gave fans an update concerning her dance partner Vito Coppola.

Ahead of Saturday night's Strictly Come Dancing final, one avid TV watcher correctly predicted that Ellie Leach would win the show, as they pointed out a bizarre pattern between Strictly and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Taking to X, formerly Twitter, TV critic Ian Hyland shared their prediction, writing: "Random fact ahead of tonight’s #StrictlyFinal.

Strictly Come Dancing came to a close on Saturday night, and Coronation Street's Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola were victorious. Ellie and Vito beat their fellow contestants, EastEnders' Bobby Brazier and his partner, Dianne Buswell, and Bad Education's Layton Williams and his partner Nikita Kuzmin to the iconic Glitterball trophy. However, after what we can only imagine were a slew of elaborate celebrations over the course of the evening, the Strictly stars have all come back down to reality.

Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been left upset, as they claim that one of the show's finallists was "robbed" and should have been the one holding up the glitterball trophy. Saturday night's Strictly final saw Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola crowned as the series winners, after fighting off competition from Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier.

BBC Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood is known for being the show's panto villain so fans were left surprised after the 58-year-old appeared emotional during Saturday night's final.

Numerous Coronation Street stars have taken to social media to congratulate Ellie Leach on her Strictly Come Dancing win, after she and Vito Coppola lifted the Glitterball trophy. Ellie, 22, and Vito, 31, were crowned the champions of the 2023 series on Saturday, 16 December, after facing Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, as well as Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell in the grand final.

Bobby Brazier's nan Jackiey Budden said his late mum Jade Goody would be looking down from heaven with pride after he reached the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday.The 20 year old actor and model was competing for the Glitterball trophy in the last show of the series with his professional partner Dianne Buswell. His mum Jade, who rose to fame after competing on Big Brother in 2002, tragically died from cervical cancer in 2009, when he was just five and his brother Freddie, 19, was four.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola have been announced as the winners of this year's 2023 series.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have said it's 'not needed' as they made a complaint just seconds into the 2023 final. It was just Ellie Leach, Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier left in the competition as it reached its climax on Saturday night (December 16).

Strictly Come Dancing crowned Ellie Leach as the winner of this year's competition after fighting off competition from Layton Williams and Bobby Braier. As the viewers voted for their favourite dancers, the scores showed Layton and Nikita at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 119. They were closely followed by Bobby and Dianne who scored 117 while Ellie and Vito had a score of 115.

Amanda Abbington has confirmed that she won't be returning for the Strictly Come Dancing final after leaving the competition early. The news will be disappointing for Strictly star Giovanni Pernice, who will now be left without a dance partner as the rest of the contestants return to the stage.

Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has admitted that he didn't think that Bad Education star, Layton Williams, would end up in this year's final.The 58 year old, who has been a judge on the show since its inception back in 2004, revealed the reason he thought Layton wouldn't go all the way was because of his background in professional dancing and performance. Rather, he thought Layton's West End stints may have hindered him, rather than helped him.To recap, before landing a place on Strictly, Layton was known for his slew of musical theatre roles, having bagged lead parts in Billy Elliot the Musical, Thriller - Live, Hairspray the Musical, Rent, and most recently, Everybody's Talking About Jamie.

It's hard to believe but 13 weeks have flown by and the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 final is now nearly here. On Saturday night (December 16) the final three couples will take to the ballroom floor for one last time.

Ellie Leach has said performing on Strictly Come Dancing has helped build her “self-confidence” by putting her out of her comfort zone. The former Coronation Street star, 22, will go up against actors Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier on Saturday night as they compete to win the glitterball trophy.

Amanda Abbington has decided to give the Strictly Come Dancing final a miss, following her early exit from the competition and an alleged 'feud' with Giovanni Pernice. This means that professional dancer Giovanni Pernice will have to take to the dance floor alone, while the other stars make their return.

Craig Revel Horwood disagreed with his fellow judges at the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final as he opted to save Annabel Croft over Bobby Brazier - despite judges Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas voting in favour of saving the latter. Craig, 58, was the third judge to vote, leaving head judge Shirley, 62, to cast the deciding vote.

The three finalists of Strictly Come Dancing have been confirmed - to those who have sought out the weekly spoiler at least. It was a big night in the ballroom as the remaining four couples performed their hearts out in a bid to claim a place in the final.

Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin couldn't help but shed a tear on Saturday (9 December) as he took to the Strictly Come Dancing stage with partner Layton Williams.The duo performed a sensational Charleston routine, earning them not only a full house of 40 points from the judges, but a standing ovation from notoriously harsh Craig Revel Horwood. Layton's stellar feedback left Nikita, who recently went public with his new girlfriend, feeling emotional as they chatted after the performance, with the dancer making reference to some turbulence in stage and screen star Layton's personal life. Speaking to host Claudia Winkleman, Nikita was bursting with pride as he turned to Layton and shared: "I know he [Layton] makes it seem easy but you are the most hard-working person I have ever been in a room with.

Strictly Come Dancing star Shirley Ballas is overjoyed after becoming a new grandmother, but her happiness is tinged with sadness as her grandson Banksi Wylde lives in America. Shirley, 63, who is dating actor Danny Taylor, 20, dotes on dancer son Mark who is married to singer song-writer BC Jean but misses him every day now they live on different continents. While Mark remains in America, Shirley lives in the UK with her mum Audrey, who is in remission from cancer.