Karen Carney wins Glitterball as Strictly final bids farewell to Tess and Claudia

Karen Carney roared to victory on Saturday night, lifting Strictly Come Dancing’s Glitterball trophy after a season that saw the former England Lioness overcome early doubts to become one of the competition’s standout performers. Dressed in a football kit, Carney celebrated with her professional partner Carlos Gu, moments after hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced she had edged ahead of Amber Davies and George Clarke. Carney, 38, struggled with Scheuermann’s disease — a condition causing excess spinal curvature that has affected her for years — and fought back tears as she expressed disbelief at the win: “I cannot believe it. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has followed our journey and supported us.” She added a grateful nod to Gu: “Thank you to this wonderful gentleman – we are a team and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

The result came after a finale packed with high-energy performances and emotional moments. Amber Davies, a West End dancer by trade, had topped the leader board going into the public vote with 118 points, while Carney and George Clarke trailed closely behind on 117 each from the judges — the same total awarded by the panel for Clarke. The decisive factor was the audience ballot, which ultimately crowned Carney as the Glitterball champion, despite the judges’ score parity with Clarke. Carney’s victory crowned a season in which she frequently faced physical and emotional hurdles but demonstrated resilience, culminating in a finale that paid tribute to both competitors and the show’s longtime presenters.

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s final live show as hosts proved to be a milestone, with the pair openly emotional as their tenure on Strictly drew to a close. The evening featured a farewell montage and tributes from off-screen colleagues and celebrities, including Mary Berry, and culminated in the hosts receiving emotional praise from the production team and audience alike. Both presenters acknowledged the moment with restrained but heartfelt speeches, as Daly and Winkleman reflected on their eight-year run and the bond they shared with the cast, crew and viewers. Daly, 56, and Winkleman, 53, had revealed in October that they would not be returning for another season, marking what many called the end of an era for the beloved BBC competition.

In a surprise royal insertion into the finale, a message from Queen Camilla was read aloud to the audience. The note, delivered by judge Craig Revel Horwood as part of a montage honoring the show’s presenting duo, lauded Daly and Winkleman for their friendships and the “greatest Strictly partnership” the show has seen. It urged them to “keep dancing” and thanked them on behalf of millions of viewers. The royal salutes did not end there; the Duchess of Edinburgh also appeared via a brief video message highlighting Ellie Goldstein, a 24-year-old contestant with Down’s syndrome, noting her role as a Mencap patron and her impact on perceptions of people with learning disabilities.

The final opened with Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin delivering a high-energy tango to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, a routine that earned 37 points from the judges and 39 in the show’s overall scoring, followed by a show dance to Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande that again landed 39 points. Davies and Kuzmin then delivered a show-stopping finale to Blondie’s One Way Or Another, receiving the night’s highest marks of the segment with a perfect 40 for their finale, while Clarke performed a Viennese waltz to Somebody To Love by Queen, and Carney wrapped with a finale show dance to Human by The Killers that also drew strong scores. Clarke’s own performances included a Killer-like show dance and a later finale that helped him secure a high standing with the judges, though the public vote ultimately kept him short of lifting the Glitterball.

The season’s narrative was as much about the competition as it was about resilience. Carney’s journey was repeatedly foregrounded as a testament to determination in the face of a lifelong spinal condition, and her victory was celebrated as a rare moment of triumph for an athlete-turned-television personality who has spent years balancing sport, media commentary and personal challenges. The final’s emotional montage underscored the broader sense of farewell permeating the evening, with colleagues and celebrities sharing messages of support as Daly and Winkleman prepared to depart.

A BBC insider summed up the mood as the show closed: Strictly is going to look very different next year. The absence of Daly and Winkleman will be felt, but fans are already looking ahead to how the beloved format will evolve under new dynamics while hoping to preserve the warmth and camaraderie that defined this year’s competition. Carney’s Glitterball victory stands as a bright note in a season that balanced athletic rigor, personal stories and celebratory finales, even as it closed the curtain on one of television’s most enduring entertainment rituals.