Strictly Come Dancing stars to battle it out for the 2023 glitterball trophy
Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams and Ellie Leach are the youngest final line-up ever
Ellie Leach, Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier are set to battle it out on the dancefloor in a bid to be crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2023.
The actors will each perform three routines with their professional partners during the grand finale of the BBC dance competition on Saturday night.
Former Coronation Street star Leach, 22, is currently the bookies’ favourite to lift the glitterball trophy, with Coral bookmakers giving her 1-10 odds.
Bad Education actor Williams, 29, follows behind in second with 8-1 odds while EastEnders’ Brazier, 20, is coming third place with 12-1 odds.
Across the finale, they will all perform a routine chosen by the judges, their own favourite dance and finally a show dance.
Leach and her partner Vito Coppola have chosen their American smooth to Ain’t That A Kick In The Head by Robbie Williams as their favourite dance.
The actress previously said she felt they hit their stride in the competition when last performing this routine at the halfway mark as it secured them a score of 39 out of 40 and placed them top of the leaderboard that week.
They will also perform their dramatic paso doble to Insomnia by 2WEI again with their show dance set to be a Jennifer Lopez megamix.
Meanwhile, stage and screen star Williams and his partner Nikita Kuzmin have picked their Argentine tango to Tattoo by Loreen as their favourite dance, which received a score of 39 last time they performed it during the Blackpool special.
The judges have also selected for them to revisit their quickstep to Puttin’ On The Ritz by Gregory Porter from week two, which they received a score of 36 points for, and their show dance will be to Friend Like Me by Ne-Yo.
Elsewhere, Brazier and his partner Dianne Buswell will tug on heartstrings again as they reprise their emotional couple’s choice routine which was dedicated to Brazier’s late mother Jade Goody, who died in 2009 aged 27 with cervical cancer.
The pair will also return to their samba to Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton, which the judges’ have picked for them, while their show dance will be a La La Land medley.
Annabel Croft narrowly missed out on a place in the final after becoming the 10th celebrity eliminated from the competition last weekend.
The 57-year-old former tennis player and her dance partner Johannes Radebe lost out following a dance-off against Brazier and Buswell.
The finale will also see global superstar Cher perform and the cast of 2023 will return for one more routine.
This time the judging panel of Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and head judge Shirley Ballas will offer their feedback and scores as guidance on each of the performances.
The public then ultimately decide who will receive the coveted glitterball trophy for 2023.
Last year’s competition saw wildlife cameraman and presenter Hamza Yassin and his professional partner Jowita Przystal crowned the winners.
Strictly Come Dancing: The Final will air live on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Published: by Radio NewsHub