Stacey Dooley and her pro partner Kevin Clifton were crowned Strictly 2018 champions…
Strictly Come Dancing was a smash hit on Saturday night as almost 13 million viewers tuned in to see Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton crowned the 2018 champions.
Averaging 11.7 million viewers, with a peak audience of 12.7 million, the grand final became the most watched episode of the series.
It even did better than last Sunday’s final of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity, which drew in 10.9 million viewers.
The ratings for Strictly’s two-and-a-half hour finale reached similar success to last year’s final episode – which saw Joe McFadden and Katya Jones win the series.
Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton want to thank all of you that voted and supported them through #Strictly 2018 💜 pic.twitter.com/2GakGpXjUQ
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) December 15, 2018
The 2017 finale was seen by 13.1 million viewers at its peak, with an average audience of 11.6 million.
Stacey’s victory may not have been a surprise to many as she was firm favourite with bookies to win the series after avoiding the dreaded dance-off each week.
The 31-year-old documentary maker beat Joe Sugg, Faye Tozer and Ashley Roberts to win the Glitterball trophy.
— Stacey Dooley (@StaceyDooley) December 16, 2018
After being crowned the winners, Stacey paid tribute to her partner Kevin – who was finally a winner after finding himself in the final a previous four times.
She said: ‘I’ve had the most incredible time. It’s daunting doing something you haven’t done before – you feel silly, you feel like a bit of an idiot.
‘But Kevin walks you through – and you so deserve this.’
Congrats to Stacey and Kevin!
