After a fierce month of competition, the sparkling stage of Dancing with the Stars has drawn to a close for 2024.
Taking to the dancefloor for the final time, contestants Nikki Osborne, Ant Middleton, Samantha Jade, James Stewart, and Lisa McCune, delivered their best performances yet for their chance at securing the Mirrorball Trophy.
With double their chances to impress the judges, the stars were at the top of their game, with the panel dishing out 10s across the board to many of the celebrity’s routines.
Despite their standout performances, only one of the finalists could be crowned the winner, with Lisa McCune and her partner Ian Waite taking home the top prize.
Kicking off the last stage of the competition, the five celebrity contestants took to the floor with a themed freestyle routine.
Dazzling the judges with an ample amount of theatrics, the pairs gave their all for their chance at receiving a perfect score. Despite each delivering a showstopping number, it was Blue Heelers star Lisa McCune’s vaudeville-inspired performance that shot her to the top of the leaderboard – receiving a perfect score of 40 from the judging panel.
While the scores at the end of the first round were incredibly close, Home and Away star James Stewart and comedian Nikki Osborne’s freestyle moves sadly fell short, leaving Lisa, Ant, and Samantha in the final three.
Taking to the floor for their final dance, the trio each revisited one of their highest-scoring routines from the series, and with each receiving near-perfect scores, the task of choosing a winner was tougher than ever.
Achieving a near-perfect final score of 39, the studio audience crowned Lisa and Ian as the 2024 champions!
Celebrating their win, Ian looked back on his dancefloor journey, sharing, “I did my first series on Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, so it was 20 years ago. I’ve never won so, I am so over the moon.”
Congratulations to Lisa and Ian!
