Strictly Come Dancing final: Louis Smith favourite to win glitterball trophy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/dec/22/strictly-come-dancing-final-smith

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It began as a speculative celebrity reinvention of a ballroom dancing show that had been consigned to the archives. But when the 10th series of Strictly Come Dancing comes to an end on Saturday night it will be firmly entrenched as one of the BBC's most important shows.

Praised by critics as the ultimate feelgood treat, silver-medal winning Olympic gymnast Louis Smith is the odds-on favourite to win the glitterball trophy, having seduced viewers with his spectacular backflips and somersaults.

But the 23-year-old Olympian has not quite hit the heights of Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, second favourite to win after racking up two perfect scores of 40 out of 40.

The final of the show, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daley, is likely to match the 12 million viewers who watched McFly star Harry Judd win last year, making it, Olympics aside, one of the BBC's biggest shows of 2012. It also won bragging rights over its Saturday night rival, ITV1's The X Factor, consistently beating the Simon Cowell show in the ratings.

Smith promised his fans an extra treat in the "showdance" he will perform with his professional partner Flavia Cacace – he will take his top off. "It's quite contemporary music and dance and it doesn't make sense to do it in baggy trousers and shoes," he said at a press conference on Friday. "So we have gone with tight trousers, and then it doesn't make sense to have a top on. When you watch it you will understand."

Four months of rehearsals have taken their toll on Smith's body. "I've always had back problems," he said. "I try to do exercises to keep it in check, but there's been no time to do any other training apart from dancing. My body has changed, it's not like a gymnast's body. It's my knees more than my back. It's just very different."

Smith was not the only one to suffer in the runup to the final – Denise Van Outen, the former Big Breakfast presenter, was having treatment for a dislocated rib. She is the bookies' outsider, having had to fight for her place in the dance-off for the past two weeks. Critics such as BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans questioned whether she should be on the show because she had been to stage school and appeared in the musical Chicago in the West End.

"I'm not bothered by it now. At the beginning I was a little bit, but what can I do about it?" said Van Outen. "I can't change what people said. I stated my case and if people aren't listening, what can I do?"

Her dance partner, James Jordan, had his own theory why the pairing were not attracting more viewer votes. "No

one likes us," he said. "We looked in the mirror the other day. Everyone else looks so sweet and we look like bulldogs. It's because she's from Essex and I'm from Kent. It's a right combination."

Completing the lineup of four finalists will be the youngest, 23-year-old Dani Harmer, who played Tracey Beaker on the popular children's show.

Other celebrities who took to the floor in this series included model and actor Jerry Hall, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and Smith's fellow Olympian Victoria Pendleton, who proved more adept on two wheels than two legs.

Jordan said: "I know everyone says every year on Strictly that it's been the best year but this year – the production, the celebrities, the dancing – it has been by far the strongest year. You have never seen a final like this before. The dancing has been second to none."

<em>The Strictly Come Dancing final will be on BBC1 on at 18:30.</em>