SINGER ANNE-MARIE ROCKS JUDGES TO BE STRICTLY FESTIVE HIT
POP singer Anne-marie proved a festive hit last night when she was crowned Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Champion.
The award-winning performer, who scored a Christmas number one in 2016 with Rockabye, wowed the judges in the BBC One competition.
They gave her a maximum 40 for her stunning cha cha with professional Graziano Di Prima.
She danced to Gwen Stefani’s Feliz Navidad, beating comedian Mel Giedroyc, presenters Adrian Chiles and Jay Blades, former newsreader Moira Stuart, and First Dates’ Fred Sirieix.
Anne-marie, 30, took the festive trophy thanks to the combined vote of the audience and judges.
She also received the ultimate accolade from judge Craig Revel Horwood, who dubbed her energetic performance “fab-ul-ous!”.
Fellow judge Motsi Mabuse was equally won over by the dance and said: “You rock!”
Head judge Shirley Ballas said she “was the glittering star on the top of the tree” while Strictly pro-turned-judge Anton Du Beke declared: “What an absolute Christmas cracker!”
Anne-marie was overwhelmed with the victory, at first saying she hadn’t actually heard the verdict. But she was soon carried away with the moment. She said afterwards: “I cannot believe it! I’m so proud and so happy for this opportunity to dance. It brought out a side of me I hadn’t seen in a long time.thanks to Graz and the whole team.you have made my Christmas so special!”
Earlier in the show, the former world karate champion from Easttilbury, Essex, had been anything but confident.
She said: “People expect pop stars can dance – and I want to quash that immediately!”
Anne-marie faced stiff competition from several of her rivals on the night.
Moira Stuart and Aljaž Škorjanec performed a salsa to Santa Claus Is Comingtotown by Justin Bieber and scored 33.
Fred Sirieix and Dianne Buswell performed a quickstep to Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens and notched up 38.
But Mel Giedroyc and Neil Jones’s couple’s choice to Ice Ice Baby byvanilla Ice got a 40.