She might not have clinched the Glitterball trophy, but Fleur East can quite rightly claim that she scored a victory of some sorts on Saturday night, as she topped the leaderboard in the Strictly Come Dancing final.
Fleur was the bookies outsider going into Saturday's show, on odds as high at 50/1, while new Strictly champion Hamza Yassin was odds on favourite to win. Fleur, together with pro partner Vito Coppola, had a night to remember as they scored a near perfect 119 out of a possible 120 for their three dances. Their first 40 of the night came for their opening number, a reprise of their samba to Hot Hot Hot. They then earned the highest score of all four Show Dances, receiving 39 out 40 their performance to Sigma and Birdy's Find Me.
And then, just as they did when they performed in Blackpool last month, Fleur and Vito then got a full house of 10s for their Destiny's Child inspired Couple's Choice. They led the way at the top of the table after all the dances had been performed, three points ahead of Helen and Gorka in second, with Strictly winners Hamza and Jowita bottom on 113.
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The judges' never count for anything in the final, with the result based entirely on the public vote. So, while they might have been ahead of their rivals on the leaderboard, Fleur and Vito went into the vote with no actual advantage.
And there were plenty of fans out there who felt that Fleur was 'robbed' of the title, with one tweeting: "Fleur was definitely robbed. She was absolutely the best and deserved to win strictly," and another reacting: "Sorry but if it was actually about voting for the best dancer not a total popularity vote no way would Hazma of won, Fleur was robbed."
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