Tayce wins Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special

Strictly Come Dancing’s first drag queen competitor, Tayce, {and professional} dance associate Kai Widdrington have been topped the winners of this yr’s Christmas particular.

Choose Craig Revel Horwood praised their cha-cha to 100 Levels by Kylie and Dannii Minogue, saying it was “completely fierce, serving realness, serving fab-u-lous”.

The pair obtained tens throughout the board for his or her routine, beating comic Josh Widdicombe, actor Tamzin Outhwaite, DJ and podcaster Vogue Williams, Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and former racing driver Billy Monger to elevate the trophy.

Tayce, from Newport in south Wales, competed on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2020, and regardless of dropping out to Scotland’s Lawrence Chaney, she now has a trophy of her personal.

The festive particular started with a bunch routine from the celebrities and their dance companions to I Love Christmas from the Scrooge movie, and ended with a closing quantity to Leona Lewis’s model of I Want It Might Be Christmas Each Day.

Following the routine from Widdicombe and his skilled dance associate Karen Hauer, which scored them 36 out of 40, Strictly decide Anton Du Beke stated he was “gobsmacked” on the “completely, completely sensible” routine.

Du Beke, who has been with Strictly since its first sequence in 2004 – first as knowledgeable dancer after which as a decide – additionally had a message for Hauer.

“It has lastly occurred, the second has come. Karen has changed into me. She is the longest-serving skilled on Strictly… congratulations, you have earned it.”

Irish TV star Vogue Williams and dance associate Gorka Marquez, jived to Rockin’ Robin by Bobby Day. They have been scored 33 for his or her routine.

And former EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite and Nikita Kuzmin danced a Viennese waltz to a rendition of Hallelujah by KD Lang.

Du Beke informed them it was like his “favorite sherry trifle at Christmas”.

Billy Monger and Nadiya Bychkova danced the American clean to Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John.

Gladiators star and Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and his dance associate Nancy Xu danced avenue business to the Glee forged model of Christmas Wrapping.

The winners have been introduced after combining the studio viewers votes with the judges’ scores.

Final yr’s particular was gained by EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick, who competed on this yr’s sequence of the BBC One dance competitors.

Tayce, 30, has secured her place in Strictly historical past because the competitors’s first drag artist contestant and winner.

This yr’s present made headlines with one other first, when blind contestant comic Chris McCausland gained the trophy.