00:00In the Strictly Come Dancing finale, we saw some incredible performances with Hamza and Yuita taking the Glitterball Trophy home.
00:08Joining us to talk all things Strictly finale, we're going to be joined by Jeanette Munrara.
00:12Hi Jeanette, welcome to the finale of our Strictly Insider. How are you?
00:17Good, hello. What a final though.
00:20I know, I mean, first things first, tell us what you thought about it.
00:24It was so nice, first and foremost, to have four contestants again in the final, because last year, obviously, we
00:30only had Rose and John.
00:32So it was nice that this year we were back to seeing four amazing show dances, four judges' picks, four
00:38couples' favorites.
00:39You know, you felt like you had just like a plethora of phenomenal entertainment the whole night on the show.
00:46So I love the fact that they were all able to get into that final and dance on the night.
00:50But the level of dancing in this series is just second to none.
00:55I've not seen such high, high, high quality dancing on Strictly in, I mean, I don't think ever.
01:01And every single couple was there.
01:03It wasn't like any weakest link, quote unquote, on the night.
01:07Everybody was just amazing.
01:09So as a dancer myself, I was living the dream, you know, being able to watch that on telly on
01:15Saturday night TV.
01:17You know, it was amazing.
01:18You really couldn't have called.
01:20Like, it seems like every single one of them could have taken the Glitterball trophy and deserved it.
01:25Yeah, I feel like Molly, if she would have won, it would have been such a beautiful ending to that,
01:30like, survivor story.
01:32Same for Fleur, you know, survived four dance-offs, including a semifinal, which is always one of the scariest ones
01:37to survive.
01:39And again, if she would have won, you know, I know she would have made her dad really proud because
01:43it meant a lot to her family.
01:45You know, Hamza, obviously, our actual winner, very worthy winner, 17 10s, five times topping the leaderboard.
01:51And then Helen, I mean, her journey and her confidence and how much she grew as a human being.
01:57And Gorka also, having been in the final two times before, would have been as well just as good of
02:02a winner.
02:03So, I wouldn't, I'm glad I'm not allowed to have a favourite because I think it would have been really
02:09tough for me to pick one person to vote for because they were all amazing, really.
02:14And obviously, for the finale, it was the three first-time Strictly dancers, like Gorka aside, were the ones that
02:21made it to the finale.
02:22Why do you think that is?
02:23Do you know what? Fresh blood, you know, I think, you know, I think they come, all of them come
02:29kind of from directly that big competitive dance world, which competition is intense.
02:36And they just came from that.
02:38So, they're all fresh in their minds with that world of training and teaching and dancing and competing and sweating
02:44and sore muscles.
02:45And so, I think, you know, fresh blood just keeps you, they're eager beavers, they want to impress.
02:51And it's a different world on Strictly.
02:53And I think they definitely, you know, from what I've heard from our chats myself with all of them, there's
02:58a lot to learn still.
02:59I mean, the TV world and showbiz is very, very different from the worlds of the competitive worlds.
03:05But in saying that, because they're such phenomenal competitors, that's why I think they were fighting so hard in this
03:11competition and got as far as they did.
03:13But in saying that, you know, every single professional on this show is equally just as good as the other.
03:19Sometimes you just have amazing partnerships that just click and do beautifully well together.
03:25The partnerships really were amazing.
03:27You could just see that each of them had this, like, this bond.
03:29But I think especially Helen and Gorka, like, you touched on how her confidence grew through the series.
03:35And I think Gorka was a huge part of that.
03:37Yeah, I think because, again, this is the difference between a seasoned pro and someone that might be coming in
03:43on year one.
03:44You know, as a seasoned professional, you can take someone like Helen to the final.
03:49Because she came in with a lack of confidence, nerves, didn't really know who, what this whole thing was going
03:56to be like for her and her family.
03:57And so Gorka, being the ultimate professional and being there before and having all the experience, he knew how to
04:06guide her.
04:06He knew how to really turn someone that had never danced before into a beautiful dancer.
04:12And not just a beautiful dancer, but a beautiful human being who is now full of confidence, really believes in
04:18herself.
04:18And kind of found this space of, like, do you know what, I'm Helen and I'm here and I'm proud
04:24and I feel good for who I am.
04:26And Gorka, you know, we spoke to him, Aliash and I called him immediately yesterday.
04:30We gave him a day to see with his family.
04:32But we FaceTimed him and both of us said, you know what, Gorka, like, you are hats off.
04:37One of the most ultimate professionals on that show to create the magic that he created with Helen and to
04:43help her have the journey that she had.
04:44Yeah, I mean, we were saying with me and Matt before the conversation that he did look crushed.
04:50Like, he looks so disappointed.
04:52How is he doing?
04:54You know, he's good.
04:55I think he really missed his little girl Mia and being home with Gemma.
04:59So he's, I'm sure he's happy to be back home with her and Gemma.
05:03And obviously gutted, you know, you want to win.
05:05Everybody wants to win.
05:07He's made the final so many times.
05:09I think ultimately, you know, as any pro that's on Strictly, the main thing is to make sure that your
05:15celebrity grew and enjoyed themselves and you got them as far as you possibly could.
05:20And I think, you know, Helen and Gorka walked out of there with their heads held high because they were
05:25in that final.
05:26They smashed the final.
05:27They had an amazing show dance.
05:29She closed the show with that minor couples choice dance, which I think will go down in Strictly history.
05:35I think there was the talk that he looked a bit, that Gorka did look a bit at this point.
05:39Do you think it was more sort of for Helen not winning?
05:42It's obviously given the year that she's had.
05:44I mean, I don't know.
05:46I guess that's a question to ask Gorka because I don't really know what was going through his mind at
05:50that time.
05:51But as a viewer, you know, I mean, I think Helen winning would have been beautiful for Helen and Gorka
05:57equally because, as I said, she had such a journey.
06:00And Gorka has been there in the past, so I'm sure the two of them would have loved it if
06:04the glitter boy, yeah.
06:06But, I mean, as you say, though, some very worthy winner, like Hamza, very worthy winner.
06:10Oh, gosh, yeah.
06:11I mean, is he really in real life?
06:13I mean, I already know your answer to this, but as wonderful as he appears on screen.
06:18Do you know, again, I spent time with him a little bit backstage and they came on It Takes Two
06:24and we spoke loads on It Takes Two when they were on the show.
06:26And every single time that I encountered Hamza, he was just an absolute dream.
06:31Just the loveliest man, I think, kind of still in shock that, you know, he was doing as well as
06:36he was doing.
06:38But, you know, my encounters with him were always incredible.
06:41He was such a nice guy.
06:42Yeah.
06:42You've been in that final before.
06:44What is that pressure like with all the dances?
06:47Oh, my gosh.
06:48I mean, I think for me, the final probably was slightly different than anybody else because it was my eighth
06:54year on Strictly.
06:55You know, I'd never been in the final before and Harvey and I were just such good mates and I
07:01loved dancing with him.
07:02We were just literally like a bit like, dare I say, Hamza and Yovita in that way, like the talent
07:08that Harvey brought.
07:09He'd never danced before, but the talent that Harvey had was just incredible, you know.
07:15And so for me, being in the final, I didn't feel those kind of nerves.
07:19I felt this sense of absolute joy to just finally be there after so many years and with someone that
07:26I could really dance with and really go for it as a professional.
07:30And so I didn't feel nerves.
07:33I was more like an excitable bunny.
07:35You know, I couldn't wait to dance my next dance that night.
07:38And Harvey was the same.
07:39We were both just buzzing to be in that final.
07:42And obviously we've had some spectacular finales.
07:45So how do you think this one compares?
07:48Do you know what?
07:49I think, again, just the level and quality of dancing that we got this year, I don't think we've ever
07:56seen before in the past.
07:57And we say it every year.
07:58We say Strictly just gets better and better.
08:00And they push and they push.
08:02And the boundaries are like extended.
08:04And how far can we go again?
08:06And in this final, I just, again, it just took the show to the next level.
08:12How could we beat last year's final?
08:14And I feel like we did in so many ways again.
08:17So already we're done with Strictly.
08:19I can't believe it's done.
08:20I'm going to have like this hole in my heart for a while now.
08:22But I feel like I'm already excited to see what's going to happen in 2023.
08:26Because if that's what we got in 2022, wow.
08:28I don't know.
08:30I was about to ask you, do you have any ideas of celebrities or anything?
08:34Like anyone that's like, okay, this person should be in it next time.
08:37Oh, God.
08:37I don't know.
08:38I mean, they always do such a good job.
08:40We have, I mean, the Strictly Live tour is coming up.
08:42That's going to be my next job now in January, February.
08:45So it'll be really nice to be with the finalists in there.
08:49And, you know, I think Hamza's doing it for sure.
08:51So Hamza's going to be our champion going on tour.
08:54And then we've got Ellie and Tyler and Will, who were amazing throughout the series as well.
08:59So they're going to be there too.
09:00So it'll be nice to kind of extend the 2022 journey a little bit into January, February.
09:06But then when it comes to next year's celebs, I don't know.
09:09I mean, they literally keep us out of the loop.
09:12You know, it's always just as much as a surprise for us as it is for anybody else.
09:16I mean, imagine if Ali Ash came back as a celeb.
09:19That would be hilarious.
09:20You would win it.
09:21Would that happen?
09:22I don't think it could happen, but it'd be hilarious.
09:25He misses dancing, so.
09:27Oh, he needs to go back.
09:29Go back.
09:29Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:30He can go back.
09:33And am I right in thinking that you're going to be a judge for the Strictly tour, Jeanette?
09:37No, no, I'm hosting the Strictly Live tour.
09:39Oh, hosting.
09:40Oh, amazing.
09:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:41I'm like Tess, Claudie and Ryland all in one on the live tour.
09:47That's great.
09:48Yeah.
09:48Do you think you could ever see yourself as a judge on Strictly in the future?
09:52Do you know what?
09:52Never say never.
09:53I mean, I think I'm a really nice person, so I'd find it tough to be super harsh or critical
09:58on anybody.
09:59I'd probably be everybody's biggest cheerleader and always give them the compliments of how wonderful they did on the show.
10:05So never say never.
10:07You never know, Matt.
10:08Thank you so much for tuning in to our finale chat of the Strictly Insider.
10:12Don't forget to like and subscribe and head over to hellomagazine.com for more news on Strictly.
10:17I'm so excited.
10:19I'm so excited.
10:20I'm so excited.
10:21I'm so excited.
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