Although Hamza Yassin won the crown, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood believes Fleur East should have won the previous edition.
Last month, the wildlife filmmaker and presenter was crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion alongside professional partner Jowita Przystal.
While Hamza had become a fan favourite and talked about how competing had helped him gain confidence, Fleur was also lauded for her skills on the dance floor and was one of the runners up, along with Helen Skelton and Molly Rainford.
Craig, on the other hand, has confessed that the singer and her professional partner Vito Coppola were ‘robbed’ of victory.
Craig told broadcasters Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott on the Magic Breakfast radio show: ‘Fleur, can I say this on Magic darling, she was robbed, there you go, that’s just me.’
‘I mean, I adore Fleur…’
For me, anyone could have won the final, but Hamza did an absolutely wonderful job, and he had the entire audience behind him, which is really crucial.
‘But Fleur really came out of her shell, and she was simply fantastic,’ she said. And I’m not exaggerating.’
Fleur was also praised by the choreographer for being able to bring herself out of the “dancing gutter” after multiple appearances in the dance-off.
He also mentioned the Strictly Come Dancing live tour and commended her performance.
‘She’s doing her Destiny’s child track which I absolutely adore. That’s one of my favourite favourite routines…she is spectacular,’ he said.
Craig has been a judge on all 20 seasons of the show and has seen many renowned faces compete, but he also admits to having a favourite of all time.
He singled out Ann Widdecombe, a politician who was partnered by Anton du Beke in 2010.
‘I’m going to say this because it was so much fun, it’s actually a video I keep looking at over and over and over again,’ he said.
‘Ann Widdecombe, Ann Widdecombe wins in that yellow outfit hands down, I mean she is sort of what the show is about, so that’s a great question…
Tere’s been so many fantastic people.’h
While she did not win, Fleur thanked the audience for’restoring happiness’ to her family’s lives after one especially poignant performance near the end of the season.
She added she ‘loved every second of it’ while paying respect to her late father, who died of a heart attack in 2020.
‘I was going to do this show for my dad, I just know he’s been here every step of the way,’ she continued.
Strictly Come Dancing is streaming on BBC iPlayer. Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour is in Birmingham until Sunday, then touring until 12 February.
