Former JLS star Aston Merrygold has been crowned the winner of the Strictly Come Dancing 2018 Christmas Special.
Partnered with Janette Manrara, Aston impressed with his jove to What Christmas Means to Me by CeeLo Green. The routine wowed the judges but more importantly, it was voted as the best routine by the studio audience meaning that Aston and Janette picked up the Strictly Silver Star trophy.
Aston said: “Honestly, just thank you. I’ve had the best, best time from the series to the Christmas special, even to just meeting new friends. The judges you guys, thank you so much for your comments, everyone in here just thanks you, and this woman right here (Janette).”
The entertainer battled it out against Anita Rani (series 13); Judy Murray (series 12); Ann Widdecombe (series 8); Caroline Flack (series 12), Jake Wood (series 12) and Michael Vaughan (series 10).
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosted the special and the judges – Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Shirley Ballas – were all present too.
The leaderboard for the special was:
- Aston Merrygold and Janette Manrara performed a Jive to ‘What Christmas Means To Me’ by CeeLo Green and scored 40.
- Caroline Flack and Gorka Marquez performed a Charleston to ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ by Mariah Carey (intro) Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters (main) and scored 40.
- Jake Wood and Luba Mushtuk performed a Cha Cha to ‘Could It Be Magic’ by Take That and scored 39.
- Anita Rani and Neil Jones performed a Foxtrot to ‘Winter Wonderland’ by Michael Bublé and scored 35.
- Michael Vaughan and Nadiya Bychkova performed a Viennese Waltz to ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’ by Kelly Clarkson and scored 30.
- Ann Widdecombe and Anton Du Beke performed an American Smooth to ‘Sisters’ by Rosemary Clooney and scored 22.
During the show there was a musical performance from The Kingdom Choir featuring a dance performance from Johannes Radebe and Amy Dowden. The Strictly stars also spread some festive joy with Make-A-Wish foundation as they visited some very special families and threw a Christmas party.
Closing out the show were all the couples and judges who performed a Christmas party spectacular.
Strictly Come Dancing will return for a new series in 2019. Take a look at all the action from the Christmas Special in our gallery below:
