Strictly Come Dancing: it's the final!

The final of Strictly Come Dancing 2009 has taken place, with Ricky Whittle and Chris Hollins battling it out for the coveted Glitterball trophy.

Each of the couples performed two dances in the first half of Saturday's two-part show - with two to follow in the results show before the series winner is crowned.

Current favourite Whittle and dance partner Natalie Lowe kicked the show off in style by reprising their quickstep from earlier in the series - and once again the judges loved it.

"That was amazing," Darcey Bussell told the Hollyoaks star, "you have set the standard for tonight's final."

"For me of all seven series, yours was the best quickstep," added Len Goodman.

The pair went on to score five perfect 10 scores from the judges - the first time this series that Whittle has achieved a full house.

Hollins and dance partner Ola Jordan were also praised for their foxtrot.

"I want to take this moment to congratulate Ola," Bruno Tonioli said, "You've turned a frog into a prince."

Even Craig Revel Horwood had some positive words for the couple, citing improvement from the first time they had performed the routine in Blackpool. "For me it was a lot better," he said.

The two couples also performed a Lindy Hop together - and the results were close.

Revel Horwood praised Ricky and Natalie for "doing really well in the partnership", while Goodman told Chris and Ola that their performance was "fantastic. There wasn't anything to choose between you," he added.

The first part of the show also included routines from some of this year's celebrities, with the likes of Craig Kelly, Rav Wilding, Martina Hingis, Jo Wood, Richard Dunwoody and Joe Calzaghe returning to the dance floor.

The results will be announced following a second show at 2040, in which the finalists will perform two more routines including a show dance.