James Jordan’s Strictly Preview: The Final
The Strictly Come Dancing Final is here, and hall of famer, James Jordan, is back with us to preview the final weekend of ballroom drama, providing the team at Free Bets with his expert insight, analysis and predictions throughout the series.
In what has been another dramatic series of ballroom drama, lets see what have been the highlights for James throughout Strictly Come Dancing 2025.
Highlights, Reflections and Final Predictions
Favourite Couple
Who has been your favourite couple of the entire series, and why?
My overall favourite couple this series has been George and Alexis. They’ve been the pair I’ve consistently rooted for from the very beginning.
I think she’s been a brilliant addition to the Strictly professional family. Her style of dancing is refreshing, her choreography has been clever, and she’s delivered exactly what the show needed in terms of warmth and creativity.
George comes across as such a lovely, humble young man, and I’ve really enjoyed watching the transformation in him. At the start of the series, he held himself back a little; he was polite, reserved, almost trying to get everything “right” rather than letting go.
As the show progressed, you could see him embracing it more and more. He relaxed into it, allowed himself to have fun, took risks, and stopped worrying about trying to be perfect.
That kind of evolution is what Strictly is meant to be about. He’s had his highs and lows, some amazing weeks, some less so, but that inconsistency actually made him more enjoyable to follow. You don’t know what you’ll get with him each Saturday, and I prefer that over watching someone who you already know will be good every week.
And when you compare his level of experience to the others in the final, he’s had far less dance training, which makes his journey even more impressive.
For me, George and Alexis have embodied the heart of the show.
Most Improved
Who would you say has been the most improved contestant this series?
The most improved couple this year was definitely Kai and Vicky. Without question.
I’ll be completely honest, going into the first week, I had very low expectations. I truly thought she was going to struggle massively. But what surprised me was how dedicated she was and how brilliantly Kai trained her. He’s very much from my world, ballroom and Latin through and through, and he put the right foundations in place from the beginning.
By the time she was eliminated, she had massively improved. And I mean truly improved, technically and performance-wise. The week before she went out, she got three tens and a nine, which says everything about how far she’d come.
The problem was simply timing. She was handed a dance that didn’t suit her on a week where everyone else had routines that played to their strengths. For a non-trained dancer, that’s brutal. But looking just at the arc of her improvement, she and Kai were the strongest journey of the series.
On top of that, you can’t talk about journeys without mentioning Balvinder. She’s now in the Strictly history books for surviving more dance-offs than anyone ever has. That alone makes her journey extraordinary.
Best Dance
What was the single best dance of the entire series?
The best dance of the series, without any hesitation, was Lewis and Katya’s Couple’s Choice.
And that’s coming from someone who is not usually a fan of Couple’s Choice. I often feel it waters down the core of Strictly’s ballroom and Latin identity. But what they created was genuinely stunning. It had everything, technique, artistry, emotion, risk, control, storytelling, musicality, the whole package.
It was one of those extremely rare Strictly moments where you sit there thinking, “I am watching something special.” It felt like a professional-level routine. It was the standout dance of the series by a mile.
Most Memorable Moment
What moment from the series stands out as the most memorable for you?
The most memorable moment for me is a bittersweet one. It’s the moment Lewis was eliminated.
That whole situation was a standout for all the wrong reasons, the shock, the unfairness of the leaderboard, and how avoidable it all was. I remember watching it and thinking, “I don’t like this, not one bit.” It became one of the talking points of the entire series, and unfortunately, it’s one of the things I’ll remember most.
On the positive side, the other moment that really stuck with me emotionally was when Kai and Vicky left. Given how much she had improved and how invested I’d become in their journey, I was genuinely gutted to see them go.
Best Partnership
Which partnership do you think worked best this year?
The best pairing this year, hands down, was Ellie and Vito.
For me, they were an absolutely perfect match. Their chemistry, their joy, their warmth, their energy… it all felt so natural. Watching them was infectious. They lit up the screen every single week.
I was honestly shocked she went out earlier than expected because I thought the public would be completely behind her. My daughter adored them, which is always a good sign of how a couple resonates beyond just dance ability.
That partnership was everything Strictly tries to achieve.
Most Underrated Couple
Who were the most underrated couple of the series?
Without a doubt, the most underrated couple were Kai and Vicky.
She was improving at a rate that I don’t think the public truly understood. From week one to her final dance, she’d made massive leaps, more than many others who stayed longer. And that’s largely due to Kai’s teaching. He knows how to train a complete beginner, because that’s the world he’s come from his whole life.
The public didn’t get to see just how technically far she’d come. If they had, I don’t think she’d have gone out when she did.
Best Prediction
Was there a prediction you’re particularly proud of getting right this year?
The prediction I got absolutely spot on, and one I don’t think many others saw coming, was that Amber and Lewis could end up in the bottom two together.
I said it because I know how the scoring system works, and I knew how much jeopardy the leaderboard ties would create. It was the only combination that could have sent Lewis home, and it happened exactly as I predicted.
It wasn’t a prediction I wanted to be right, but technically, it was.
Outside of eliminations, I actually got most of the bottom-two predictions right throughout the series. The only one that consistently threw me off was Balvinder, because nobody could have anticipated her becoming the queen of the dance-off.
The Winner
So, the big one… who wins the final?
Honestly? Flip a coin.
It’s between George and Karen. Absolutely nothing separates them in terms of the way the public might vote.
My heart wants George to win. I’ve loved his journey, I love how he’s embraced the show, and I think his partnership with Alexis has been everything Strictly stands for.
With Karen, the only thing that has slightly put me off is the narrative around her being “someone who has never danced before.” That simply isn’t true, and I think pretending it is has felt a bit disingenuous, especially when Amber was hammered week after week for having training. It created an imbalance in how the public perceived fairness.
But in terms of who will win? I genuinely think it comes down to the final performances on the night, and the strength of their social media support. If I had to edge it, I’d say George. But honestly, it’s the tightest final I’ve seen in years.
Best Judge
Who has been your favourite judge this year?
Shirley.
I haven’t always agreed with her throughout the years, but this series I think she struck the right balance. She gave constructive criticism when needed, she was encouraging without being patronising, and she wasn’t afraid to be firm.
Overall, I felt her scoring and commentary were the most consistent.
Claudia & Tess
If you could choose the new presenters to replace Claudia and Tess, who gets the job?
Bradley Walsh and Zoe Ball.
Bradley brings charm, humour, natural warmth, and a genuine love for entertainment.
Zoe is already part of the Strictly family and one of the most likeable presenters on TV.
Together they’d be fun, natural, and brilliant live, which is exactly what Strictly needs in this new era.
Changes
If you could change just one thing about Strictly next year, what would it be?
If I’m only allowed one, I’d change the VTs.
I want the show to feel more authentic again. Right now, everything is too polished, too produced, too structured. I want to see actuality, the real moments in the training room. The frustrations. The breakthroughs. The tears. The laughter. The arguments. The jeopardy.
Show me the reality of learning a dance in five days.
That’s the heart of Strictly, and we’ve lost too much of it.
Final Thought
Now that we’re at the end of the series, what’s your overall feeling about this year’s Strictly?
I’ve actually really enjoyed this series. It’s had a brilliant mix of contestants: the joy of Ellie and Vito, the journey of Vicky, the exceptional talent of Lewis and Amber, the grit of Balvinder, the charm of George.
But the show needs clarity.
There have been too many negative stories dominating the headlines, scandals, controversies, endless speculation. Strictly itself has sometimes been overshadowed.
And with Tess and Claudia leaving, now is the perfect time for a big overhaul. Come back fresh, bold, and more authentic.
The foundation of Strictly is still loved, but the show needs to rediscover its heart.
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