Helen Skelton has been hailed as "the real winner" of Strictly Come Dancing, for dancing 'through a whirlwind' and remaining 'dignified throughout.'.
It comes after the Countryfile presenter, 38, had announced the news that her nine-year marriage is over on Instagram. The split was announced just months after she and the rugby player, 31, welcomed a third child.
Hamza Yassin was crowned winner of the hit BBC show last night (December 17) following a closely fought final in which Helen and partner Gorka Marquez scored their first perfect score of the series. Hamza won the public vote to claim the trophy, but shortly after the programme it was revealed that Richie had left the family home.
Fellow celebrities rushed to offer their support, with Dan Walker posting on Instagram: "Well done Hamza… brilliant from the start and @jowitaprzystal played a blinder. Fleur and Molly are incredible too.
"Helen didn’t win but she has won. She danced through a whirlwind, never mentioned it and remained dignified throughout. Her mum, dad and kids must be so proud of her."
ucielocket999 strongly supported Dan's post, saying: "Absolutely she achieved so much, but she overcame so much, she won."
In an emotional social media post, Helen revealed her marriage split-up: "Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co parent our small children."
Helen and Richie married in 2013 and have three young children, Ernie, six, Louis, five and Elsie Kate, four months.
Among others offering support on Twitter was @JennyJambo, who said: "Meh…fair play but Helen was the real winner. She won back her self-confidence and her self-belief!" @theatreandtonic added: "I am so happy for Hamza but the real winner is Helen who found her spark again on this show!"
According to The Sun, Helen will be dancing all the way to the bank after a string of projects have been lined up for her. It quotes a BBC insider saying that bosses want to make her the channel’s new “golden girl”.
Helen recently opened up about her chances of winning the series and broke down in tears on It Takes Two when looking back through her journey. She told presenter Rylan Clark: "We would love to lift that trophy but I feel like we've already won it.
"We've had such an adventure, and I've said it before, you're [Gorka] a credit to the show and a credit to your family."
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