Anton do Beke says the standard of the finalists is ‘so high’ and there will be plenty of drama as presenters Tess and Claudia bow out after more than a decade of hosting the show together

It’s the Strictly Come Dancing final and, in time-honoured fashion, the finalists will have three chances to impress the judges as they take to the dancefloor for the last time. The trio who have made it all the way to the end in 2025 will dance a show dance, their own choice from the different styles they’ve learned over the past few months and then the judges’ choice, which tends to be one that needed improvement at the time.

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Saying that each of them has absolutely earned their place in the final of the BBC series, judge Anton du Beke has shared his thoughts on their progress over the weeks:

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On George Clarke, partnered with Alexis Warr, Anton says: “He’s such a lovely boy. What I love most is the way he’s dancing with Alexis, his partnering skills have been as good as anything we’ve seen. They make a wonderful couple, that I like a lot. He’s grown emotionally in this. At the beginning it was all fun and I looked at him sometimes and thought ‘are you actually taking this seriously?’ But he was. It was his way of overcoming the nerves and everything. Now he’s developed into someone who’s going ‘actually, I really want to win this’.

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“George has been a revelation and I’m delighted for him because you don’t want to look back on the Strictly experience and go ‘oh, I wish I’d done this or that’. I think he’s transformed as he’s been on the show.”

On Karen Carney, partnered with Carlos Gu, he says: “She’s so excellent at – as Len would have said – the old ‘crash, bang, wallop’ stuff, the dances with lots of energy and impact. She started with that jive and developed along that line wonderfully.

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“For the slower dancing, like the waltzes, the floor needs a lot of filling up with something other than big energy. This style needs a bit more elegance and a bit more time, it’s the other end of the scale and it’s as big and difficult to do. I didn’t realise she had this type of dance in her. And so for her to been able to achieve that has been an absolute revelation. I’ve loved that part of her particular story.”

On Amber Davies partnered with Nikita Kuzmin, he says: “She is absolutely excellent. And to think that she came in with a day to spare, arriving on a Friday and on the show on Saturday. She does bring with her that element of theatrical training, but it’s of no use when you’re trying to do foxtrots and quick steps and Cha Cha Chas and jives. So she’s had to relearn everything, just the same as everyone.

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“Amber has performed to an enormously high level, which is a really impressive. Her Charleston in the quarter finals was astonishing. I’m delighted she’s made the final, she’s danced brilliantly all the way through.”

Anton – who next year celebrates his milestone 60th birthday – says the show has retained its popularity because it has many layers. “You can like it on very many levels,” he explains. “I mean, my children are eight and they love the show, but they love the music. People love the dancing, they love the couples. Every year we recast it. You might love to agree with the judges, you might love to disagree with the judges. You might enjoy the hosts, as they were, and their relationship. It’s so layered. And it also is the best of everything in television.

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“You’ve got all the greatest cameramen working on it. The greatest costume department, the greatest makeup department, the greatest band, all of it. The best people who work in this world are working on Strictly Come Dancing.”

He says that the millions of fans also love the way in which it “speaks to everyone”, saying: “It’s an incredibly inclusive show, last year we got Chris [McCausland] on, who was blind, we had Rose [Ayling-Ellis] on a few years ago, who’s deaf, this year we had Ellie [Goldstein] with Down’s Syndrome. Everybody is part of this show. And that’s the joy.”

When it comes to the final, he believes that Tess and Claudia’s exit is going to be a big deal. “I think at the end they’ll be very emotional and I think on Sunday morning, when they wake up, they’ll go, ‘oh, that’s it.’ There’s going to be a big hole for them, which they’ll have to take a bit of time to process.”

And Anton – one of the names in the frame to replace them – adds: “I’ll be emotional too – I can’t help it now, I think it might be my age. I’m still a bit stunned that they’ve decided to leave.”