Hamza Yassin won Strictly due to judges acting like it was 'done deal' for his rival

Hamza Yassin went from from being the odds-on winner to possible no-hoper during tonight's live Strictly Come Dancing final.

But the wildlife cameraman, 33, inspired a loyal fan base that disregarded the judges' scoring on the BBC show, according to body language expert Judi James.

Hamza and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystał sobbed during tonight's live final after beating Helen Skelton, Molly Rainford, Fleur East and their respective partners to be crowned this year's winners.

Yet before lifting the coveted Glitterball Trophy at the end of tonight's show, Hamza appeared to have thrown away his chances of winning the series after making mistakes during his showdance routine.

Hamza Yassin was overcome with emotion as his name was announced as this year's Strictly champion (BBC)

"Hamza went from being odds-on winner to possible no-hoper on the finale show after a disastrous foxtrot full of clunking mistakes that led Jowita to praise the fact that she was just ‘proud he didn’t stop’," Judi told the Mirror following the cameraman's victory this evening [December 17].

She continued: "Motsi’s comment that he had at least ‘shown you’re human’ must have sounded like the faintest of praise. Jowita’s body language suggested she knew they’d blow their chances of a win.

"She clutched at her skirt in an anxiety ritual up on the balcony and her fixed, rigid, overkill fake smile was painful to watch. Hamza put his fingers over his face to whisper apologies to her and in a rare flash of what looked like frustration, Jowita knocked his hand down sharply to stop him over-emphasising his errors."

Hamza turned things around after making a mistake during one of his final performances (BBC)

Judi went on to explain: "Hamza did pull back with his excellent final dance but it was eclipsed by some of the dances that followed it. By the time Fleur had blown the roof off with her Beyonce number and Helen had brought the walls down with her revenge dance, Hamza was beginning to fade in the memory. So why did he win?"

"Hamza inspired a loyalty in the fans that was resilient to the scoring on the night. Put simply he was likeable and loveable. There were probably even people who missed the show who would have been voting for Hamza because up until the final he looked like the best of winners, a nice, modest guy who actually could dance."

"But then there was the ‘Contrary factor’ that would possibly have tipped the scales in Hamza’s favour. If the judges went overboard in their praise for Fleur they went into screaming melt-down for Helen after her revenge dance.

The Strictly judges heaped praise on Helen throughout this evening's final (BBC)

Judi added: "The climate created in the room was hysterical after the dance finished. Motsi in particular rose to her feet to wave her arms to urge the crowd on in their clamouring, revving them up as though she was on stage in a panto. Helen was told by the judges that she ‘should win a final’ in a huge statement of bias.

"With the voting up to the public the judges went overboard for Helen and Gorka, calling them out as though they had already won. It was made by the judges to look like such a done deal for Helen that it almost didn’t look worth keeping tuned in for the actual result.

"Nothing turns social media faster than being told who to vote for, though. Hamza is a great guy and a great dancer but given his overall scores on the night and his dodgy second dance he needed the contrariness of the public voters to give him the win.

Hamza has won a legion of fans thanks to his moves on the dancefloor (PA)

"It’s not called the viewers’ vote for nothing and the more the judges pushed for Helen to win the faster those fingers would have been busy dialling up for Hamza.

"And when Hamza’s name was called as a winner the body language responses of the judges and pro dancers was hilarious. Motsi stood clapping but turned to Shirley to mouth the word ‘Wow’ in what looked like shock.

"Anton was shown standing frozen with his hands clasped. The lovely Gorka’s face looked like thunder. He’d virtually had the glitterball handed to him on a plate by the judges and the audience and now the public had shoved it into Hamza’s hands instead.

Hamza paid tribute to his dance partner after their emotional victory (BBC/Guy Levy)

"There was no apparent sign of rushing up to congratulate the winner from Gorka, who stood looking stunned instead."

"Words cannot describe how I feel right now," an emotional Hamza admitted after receiving the news he had won earlier this evening.

After paying tribute to his dance partner, calling her "an angel disguised as a human being", the 32-year-old then shared some life advice with viewers watching at home.