Nile Wilson and his skating partner Olivia Smart have been named as the Dancing On Ice 2023 winners after incredibly close call with runners up Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer.
Three celebrities and their professional skating partners performed their hearts out this evening all fighting to scoop the winners trophy.
The finalists have been working hard on the ice the last few weeks, perfecting multiple routines, with the hopes of coming out on top.
Hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield alongside judges, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo had their best glam on for the glittering final but but the winner was decided by the general public as they chose between The Vivienne, Nile Wilson and Joey Essex.
Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer, Nile Wilson and Olivia Smart and The Vivienne and partner Colin Grafton all gave it their all as they skated their hearts out. The Vivienne and Colin finished in third place, missing out on performing the infamous Bolero dance.
The winners were then announced as Nile and Olivia and they celebrated with their cast mates by lifting the trophy as gold confetti fell around them.
Speaking ahead of the final, each of the finalists spoke about their time in the competition.
Joey said: "I feel like I’ve always been perceived as this person who doesn’t know much and is not intelligent but on the flip side, I’ve got personality and other strengths."
"With Dancing on Ice that’s what I wanted to show, that I am skilful. I’ve learned a lot and in the past few years I’ve turned into a man so it’s nice to show who I am. I’m not just silly 24/7. I’m not going to say I’m not stupid, because sometimes I can be a little bit stupid."
The Vivienne never thought she'd make it so far in the competition but was completely delighted to make it to the top three.
She said: "If you’d have told me I’d end up in the top three alongside an Olympic gymnast I’d have been mind-blown. It’s a huge achievement, I think people thought me and Joey would be out first!
"They thought we wouldn’t be able to do one lift but we’ve done about nine different lifts and we might have a few extra things in our back pocket. It’s nice to prove people wrong,"
Nile also said he's learned so much from the experience. He said: "I’m just focusing on the process not the results, that’s what I learned as an athlete. If we go out there and skate the best we can, the results will take care of themselves. The semi final was an incredible moment to get the four tens," he said.
"I love skating, I’ve learned as much as I possibly can."
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