Hamza Yassin was left tearful on Friday evening ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing final as his partner Jowita Przystał thanked him for getting her to the final of the 2022 competition.
The grand finale looms on Saturday evening as the four remaining couples are set to take to the BBC One ballroom floor to perform three routines in the hopes of lifting the Glitterball trophy.
Hamza and Jowita appeared on the Strictly spin-off It Takes Two ahead of the last live show of the 20th series with co-hosts Rylan Clark and Janette Manrara after the pair were the highest scoring couple in Sunday night's live semi-final.
Hamza told Rylan and Janette that he expected to be voted off the competition in the second week, when the first elimination took place and ultimately saw Loose Women’s Kaye Adams go home.
He said: “Hand on heart, every single week, we stand together at the results show and I whisper in her ear, ‘Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. I’m ready for the dance off. Here we go.’
“I didn't think that this was ever going to happen, let alone that we were in the final.”
Janette turned to Jowita and noted that during last year’s competition she was watching the show from the sidelines as she was not assigned a celebrity partner.
Jowita said she was ‘on Cloud 9’ this year, saying: “I’m living my dream and to be partnered with Hamza is just the best thing that could happen to me.”
She continued: “At the beginning of the year I got a calendar that said: 2022 it’s time to shine. This meant a lot and now it’s actually come true.”
She then turned to Hamza as he teared up next to her and said: “Thank you Hamza because you let me shine this year.”
The remaining four couples will take to the dancefloor next week for the final time in the hopes of becoming the pair to lift the Glitterball Trophy when Strictly Come Dancing: The Final airs live on December 17.
Wildlife presenter Hamza remains the bookie's favourite to lift the Glitterball Trophy this series as he is priced at 8-13.
However, former Blue Peter presenter Helen has seen her odds of winning this year's Strictly Come Dancing slashed, according to William Hill.
Strictly returns for the final at 7.15pm on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
