:00:51. > :00:56.Live from London, this is Strictly It Takes Two! Please welcome your
:00:57. > :00:59.host, Zoe Ball. APPLAUSE
:01:00. > :01:03.There are only three sleeps until the Strictly final,
:01:04. > :01:07.so tonight I've done a deal with Santa
:01:08. > :01:11.and managed to pull together an absolute gift of a line-up.
:01:12. > :01:16.Here for his final warm-up of the series,
:01:17. > :01:19.Ian Waite will be casting his wand
:01:20. > :01:21.over our finalists' show-stopping showdances.
:01:22. > :01:30.Louise and Kevin are here to reveal their plans for the final.
:01:31. > :01:32.And it's the It Takes Two equivalent of a visit
:01:33. > :01:35.from the Queen, so everyone be on your best behaviour.
:01:36. > :01:40.Strictly royalty, Tess and Claud are here!
:01:41. > :01:43.Now, after a tantalising tango and a fruity samba,
:01:44. > :01:45.our next couple won themselves a rightful place
:01:46. > :01:58.in the Strictly final. It's Louise and Kevin!
:01:59. > :02:07.So much snap, crackle and pop! You were dynamic, it was full of
:02:08. > :02:14.content, I totally loved watching you.
:02:15. > :02:24.A classic samba, the joy in your face! For me, there wasn't enough
:02:25. > :02:26.other -- upper body energy or resistance. You put in everything
:02:27. > :02:41.you possibly could, great! You loved watching that back. You
:02:42. > :02:48.are finalists, congratulations, can you quite believe it? It was such an
:02:49. > :02:54.emotional weekend. I have to say, I am so happy, it was the hardest week
:02:55. > :02:58.I had had on Strictly. You know, I really threw myself into the
:02:59. > :03:02.dancers, but they were hard, and I was really nervous, and to get
:03:03. > :03:08.through, it was an emotional night for everyone, but amazing. We will
:03:09. > :03:13.come to the tears, but the great thing is, Louise, you have managed
:03:14. > :03:21.to keep Kevin's never knocked out reputation completely intact! I am
:03:22. > :03:27.so relieved! Quite a lot of extra pressure by everyone I spoke to said
:03:28. > :03:30.that Kevin had never not been in the final, and my legacy could have been
:03:31. > :03:36.the one that did not get into the final! I was so stressed on
:03:37. > :03:44.Saturday! They were two very difficult dances, samba and tango in
:03:45. > :03:46.the same week. Kevin, and you are not only a finalist, you have said
:03:47. > :03:48.another Strictly record. You are the first pro
:03:49. > :04:01.to have ever reached APPLAUSE
:04:02. > :04:06.They have given us everything, one party popper!
:04:07. > :04:06.I hate this phrase, but we must say it.
:04:07. > :04:10.Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
:04:11. > :04:22.But could this year BVA? -- be be a question mark I know, what usually
:04:23. > :04:26.happens is that I make it to the final, and come second. If that
:04:27. > :04:33.happens, it is totally my fault! Obviously, it would be lovely, full
:04:34. > :04:38.Louise, because I think she deserves it, it is not about me, it is about
:04:39. > :04:40.this girl here, she has been amazing all series.
:04:41. > :04:43.Kevin, we've talked a lot this year about the Clifton family rivalry.
:04:44. > :04:46.But you and your sister Joanne were very emotional on Sunday
:04:47. > :05:01.And it was a lovely, lovely thing. It was a really big weekend! I think
:05:02. > :05:04.when she got through, I sort of lost control a little bit, because she
:05:05. > :05:13.didn't even have a celebrity partner last year, and this year she has
:05:14. > :05:18.worked so hard with Ore. When they got though, I punched the air, I
:05:19. > :05:22.didn't realise I was on camera at the time! As much as we joke about
:05:23. > :05:27.it, the rivalry and all that, she is my baby sister, you know? You shared
:05:28. > :05:38.a gorgeous picture of the two of you. Incredible outfits there!
:05:39. > :05:49.Haven't changed at all. Back to the dances of the tango burst. Weekend,
:05:50. > :05:55.Are you glad it is all over? I love them all, but there was a lot of
:05:56. > :06:01.content, lots to take on. I always enjoy myself out there, even if it
:06:02. > :06:06.is not my best dance, I love every minute of it, and the tango is no
:06:07. > :06:11.different. And you got onto the conveyor belt at the end! And then,
:06:12. > :06:16.of course, the samba, you hate seeing this, but we're going to show
:06:17. > :06:23.you one more time. You add fruit in your hair and everything. What did
:06:24. > :06:27.you make of this one? I think it was just so out of character for me, I
:06:28. > :06:32.am the last person who is going to go on TV with fruit and her hair and
:06:33. > :06:36.shaking her bits everywhere. But it is all an experience, and one thing
:06:37. > :06:40.I realised when I started doing Strictly, you have to throw yourself
:06:41. > :06:46.at everything. At the start of the week, I was saying, I am not wearing
:06:47. > :06:54.fruit. But then, come on, I will do it all, make the most of it. You
:06:55. > :06:59.will never have to do it again! This weekend is the final, three dances,
:07:00. > :07:04.so exciting, the one we are most excited about is the one we know
:07:05. > :07:10.very little about, you're showdance to Whitney Houston. This is a great
:07:11. > :07:15.tune, because it builds to this huge crescendo, and I am sure he will
:07:16. > :07:20.hold you up with one finger! What can you tell us about the character
:07:21. > :07:25.or the theme? Well, throughout the series we do it for different
:07:26. > :07:28.dances, I ended up giving Louise a different character, a different
:07:29. > :07:36.name or something, a whole back story. And for this one, she's being
:07:37. > :07:38.Louise Redknapp. It is about her story on Strictly and the way she
:07:39. > :07:43.has developed from being very scared at the beginning to growing in
:07:44. > :07:49.confidence and as a performer, it is the story of that. It is all about
:07:50. > :07:57.Louise. You don't have to fall in love with Kevin. I am still trying
:07:58. > :08:03.to push her! Andy Warhol wearing ballet shoes? I am, so it is it is
:08:04. > :08:09.so different to anything else we have done throughout the series. It
:08:10. > :08:15.is nice to go out and do something completely different. When do you
:08:16. > :08:20.start planning the showdance? Is it something you do in your bedroom?
:08:21. > :08:24.Snow, not at all! Only when I know that we are through, I never start
:08:25. > :08:30.planning until we know we are through to the next week. You told
:08:31. > :08:40.me at about 11 o'clock on Sunday night. Yeah! Usually into the night
:08:41. > :08:48.on a Sunday night. And you get to do a dance that you have done before,
:08:49. > :08:53.your favour -- your favourite, the Argentine tango, what was so special
:08:54. > :08:56.about this? It was the first time I felt engulfed in a routine, and I
:08:57. > :09:01.think I understood how important it was to put everything into it, so I
:09:02. > :09:05.don't know, through all of the dances, it felt like the first one
:09:06. > :09:10.where we were like, OK, I get what we have to do. It was the turning
:09:11. > :09:15.point, Len had given some comments, saying we were not quite good
:09:16. > :09:18.enough, not as good as the ones at the top of the leader board. And
:09:19. > :09:23.then she came out and gave everything, it was a real turning
:09:24. > :09:29.point. All the judges gave you tens except Craig. I know! Well, we are
:09:30. > :09:35.going to try our best, but that would be amazing, we will give
:09:36. > :09:40.everything. I am so excited for the two our view, wonderful, cannot wait
:09:41. > :09:43.to see the showdance. Good luck, and your boy Jamie is on the show
:09:44. > :09:53.tomorrow, I am going to make him dance! Just kidding! Just getting to
:09:54. > :09:58.do a step over. Also, we will find out what the judges have picked for
:09:59. > :10:00.you, but not until Saturday. Enjoy the final, in fact we will see you
:10:01. > :10:03.on Friday. Louise and Kevin! Now, over the past 12 weeks,
:10:04. > :10:06.one man and his trusty wand have analysed the training-room footage
:10:07. > :10:09.of an astonishing 105 dances. Lesser men would crumble under
:10:10. > :10:26.the pressure, but not Ian Waite! For the last time this series -
:10:27. > :10:36.Ian Waite, everybody! He is wearing red trousers, look at
:10:37. > :10:43.this! I was told I had to wear something colourful so I do not
:10:44. > :10:47.blend into the background. Have you gone for a spray tan? I have been
:10:48. > :10:52.away to the Canaries, but I was still watching the show in my hotel
:10:53. > :10:57.room! Can you believe it is the final already? I think because it
:10:58. > :11:02.has been so good, it has gone just like that. Something we are really
:11:03. > :11:06.looking forward to seeing is the finalists' showdances, when they can
:11:07. > :11:14.do no holds barred, anything goes, no rules at all, what are we looking
:11:15. > :11:17.for in a great performance? From last week, they were also emotional,
:11:18. > :11:21.the semifinal, everybody is crying. But this week they are just going to
:11:22. > :11:26.go hell for leather, the music has to be very important, it has to have
:11:27. > :11:30.highs and lows. With the choreography, you have to make sure
:11:31. > :11:34.you have easy parts, fast parts, and also the big lifts, the big wow
:11:35. > :11:39.moments. You have to have a beginning, a medal and an end, a big
:11:40. > :11:43.finale at the end. And of course, you know, as an example, the
:11:44. > :11:52.showdance we did when we got knocked out! Is this the bit where you fell
:11:53. > :11:58.over?! This was really difficult, to choreograph this, great piece of
:11:59. > :12:03.music, but five beats to a bar, it was so difficult. Just do that
:12:04. > :12:13.little bit. I can't do it any more, don't make me do it! What do you do?
:12:14. > :12:22.APPLAUSE Don't leave me on my own!
:12:23. > :12:26.I am sorry, after Karen Clifton did that so amazingly, you cannot touch
:12:27. > :12:30.it ever again. Tom Chambers had the best showdance ever, he was
:12:31. > :12:35.incredible. Let's have a look at what they have done so far, only
:12:36. > :12:43.tiny bits. For one last time, get the one doubt. If I must! There we
:12:44. > :12:55.go, look. Let's start with Danny had Oti, their dance is to Set Fire To
:12:56. > :13:01.The Rain by Adele. They are doing some Argentine tango mixed with some
:13:02. > :13:06.contemporary, so very dramatic. I did Set Fire To The Rain, I dance to
:13:07. > :13:10.that number with Darcey, so they have got a lot to live up to, I am
:13:11. > :13:15.just saying, no pressure! But he will have her up in those lifts, and
:13:16. > :13:19.for him the most important thing is to go out like a champion, and he
:13:20. > :13:24.has done that all the way along. As Jill Halfpenny said the other night,
:13:25. > :13:29.every week he comes out, and he dances like a champion. She said
:13:30. > :13:35.dance like you are already a winner, because you kind of art. Yes, if you
:13:36. > :13:39.have made the final. We did not care that we were third, just that we had
:13:40. > :13:46.made a final, it is amazing, enjoy it. Louise and Kevin are dancing to
:13:47. > :13:53.One Moment In Time, Whitney Houston. We did a rumba to this, and it was a
:13:54. > :13:59.disaster! Let's move on! As you mentioned, she is in those ballet
:14:00. > :14:02.shoes, I think it will be a sort of rumba, adagio sort of dance, so
:14:03. > :14:08.Kevin will have to have good muscles to be lifting her, not that she is
:14:09. > :14:12.heavy but...! It is hard work, when you are practising all those lifts
:14:13. > :14:19.over and over again, it is OK doing it once, but over and over again.
:14:20. > :14:24.Now, as I said, he said the song is about her story throughout Strictly.
:14:25. > :14:28.And it is a grower, that song, it starts off quite easy, and then it
:14:29. > :14:33.builds up to the end, a big crescendo at the end. I think it
:14:34. > :14:42.will be a good showdance. Finally, Ore and Joanne, I Got Rhythm from
:14:43. > :14:49.Crazy For You, classic Gene Kelly, he did it so brilliantly. He did,
:14:50. > :14:53.with Singing In The Rain. It reminds me of the song that Tom Chambers
:14:54. > :14:59.dance to, that old-fashioned variety sort of feel, and I think throughout
:15:00. > :15:04.the dance, you can create those old-fashioned moments. As you say,
:15:05. > :15:09.he was brilliant in Singing In The Rain, so I think it will be great,
:15:10. > :15:14.and I think the British public will love this one. The Strictly public
:15:15. > :15:20.will adore this. You know, for him, really, he has got to get totally in
:15:21. > :15:24.character, like he did in singing in the rain, which I do not think will
:15:25. > :15:29.be difficult for him. But he is the one who has come from nowhere and be
:15:30. > :15:34.come this amazing dancer. I cannot believe it is the last one! He is
:15:35. > :15:39.into the studio on Friday, so not quite over, you and Gethin Jones,
:15:40. > :15:40.but thanks for keeping us warmed up over the last three months. Give it
:15:41. > :15:45.up for Ian Waite! Now, regular viewers will know
:15:46. > :15:48.we love a good Strictly stat But with the Final fast approaching,
:15:49. > :15:53.we decided to bring in a heavyweight broadcaster to delve deep
:15:54. > :15:55.into the Glitterball Here with a high-brow,
:15:56. > :16:01.informative analysis of all the finalists that have
:16:02. > :16:16.gone before, it's the Sorry, I'm so sorry, I was just
:16:17. > :16:21.having a slight moment, I know you understand that! I'm inside,
:16:22. > :16:26.actually inside the Strictly Glitterball! We will use the power
:16:27. > :16:31.of the graphics to see if there is some scientific way of working out
:16:32. > :16:39.who is best placed to win. We've got quite a lot of information. We've
:16:40. > :16:44.got... 13 series. We have seen... 39 finalists! And of course, those 13
:16:45. > :16:50.brilliant winners. Is there some way of working out who will be the
:16:51. > :16:56.winner of series 14? And maybe also where I went wrong! Take a look at
:16:57. > :17:02.our finalists named board and we have put the name of all 39 in no
:17:03. > :17:07.particular order so you can search for your favourites. Down here, Zoe
:17:08. > :17:12.Ball! Series III. We remember you! But what I'm going to do now is
:17:13. > :17:19.rearrange them in the decades. Just have a look. Now we can see which of
:17:20. > :17:25.them favourites to be finalists. Over here, you've got the people in
:17:26. > :17:30.their 20s. 16 of them. The thirtysomethings, 18. That is the
:17:31. > :17:35.most populated age decade. You have just got four of the
:17:36. > :17:38.fortysomethings. And the fiftysomethings? That none of them,
:17:39. > :17:44.nobody mentioned that the meat when they invited me on to the show. In
:17:45. > :17:49.their 60s, one finalists, Pamela Stephenson. This is the Strictly pie
:17:50. > :17:54.chart and we do not even get this in election coverage! Look at the
:17:55. > :17:58.beauty of that! Every segment is a decade so the thirtysomethings, you
:17:59. > :18:03.could see they've the bigger segment. And the average age of
:18:04. > :18:08.finalists is 31.2. However, and this is fascinating, watch what happens
:18:09. > :18:14.when the Strictly pie chart looks at only winners. You can see the way
:18:15. > :18:18.suddenly, the segment that belongs to 20 somethings becomes the
:18:19. > :18:24.biggest. There are more 20-something winners, seven, and 30-something
:18:25. > :18:29.winners, six. So winning the Glitterball is clearly a young
:18:30. > :18:36.person's thing. Person! Do I mean man or woman? Now, this territory of
:18:37. > :18:41.the Battle of the sexes is the most fascinating. In all the Strictly
:18:42. > :18:46.graphics area. Look at this, it shows you that are more female than
:18:47. > :18:50.male finalists in the past history of Strictly so the women have it in
:18:51. > :18:54.terms of finalists. They never told me that either, by the way! However,
:18:55. > :18:59.look at the winners. It changes around. That is interesting. You
:19:00. > :19:06.suddenly see more male Strictly winners than female. In seven -- it
:19:07. > :19:10.is 7-6. What will happen this year? Will the men extend their lead over
:19:11. > :19:14.the women or will the women catch up and make it seven abuse? As a
:19:15. > :19:21.Strictly fan, you will know the two main styles of dancing, Latin and
:19:22. > :19:25.ballroom, but which are stronger in, the finalists? For this key battle
:19:26. > :19:29.ground territory, we need a Strictly swingometer. Looking at past
:19:30. > :19:34.finalists, we find the number strongest in Latin based on the
:19:35. > :19:38.average scores through the contest is only nine! If we look at the
:19:39. > :19:46.number strongest in ballroom, bring the arrow around, it is 29. Ballroom
:19:47. > :19:53.predominates among the finalists. One was strong equally in both, the
:19:54. > :19:57.amazing Natalie in series 11. We switched to winners using the
:19:58. > :20:03.swingometer for this. So the strongest winners in ballroom, how
:20:04. > :20:09.many? Nine. How many winners were strongest in Latin? As they came
:20:10. > :20:13.through the contest. Only four. And they were Jill Halfpenny, Caroline
:20:14. > :20:17.Flack, Kara Tointon and Jay McGuiness. Latin in the minority so
:20:18. > :20:21.it seems ballroom is the ticket to get you to the final. So there we
:20:22. > :20:25.go, fascinating facts and figures about the last 13 series of
:20:26. > :20:28.Strictly! Thank you, Strictly, for allowing me to be inside the
:20:29. > :20:40.Glitterball! It is the closest I have ever got. The question is if we
:20:41. > :20:44.can take these numbers and analyse them and work out who is going to
:20:45. > :20:46.win the series 14, it is going to be so enthralling!
:20:47. > :20:46.Zoe, back to you. Jeremy Vine, I love him!
:20:47. > :20:48.And Jeremy Vine will be back inside the Glitterball tomorrow
:20:49. > :20:53.Right now, it's time to welcome the Queen Bees of Strictly.
:20:54. > :20:55.Here, together on my sofa for the first time ever,
:20:56. > :20:57.please be upstanding for the brilliant Tess Daly
:20:58. > :21:02.Hello, ladies! Lovely to see you here. Of duty, I like it.
:21:03. > :21:08.You presented It Takes Two for seven years.
:21:09. > :21:17.Yes, I apologise. It is so much nicer and you are a genius. We are
:21:18. > :21:20.obsessed, we say, have you seen Zoe, and her shoes? The lush, I was
:21:21. > :21:25.secretly pregnant and the place smelt of sick! I had bad morning
:21:26. > :21:29.sickness. I would talk to somebody and B, back in a minute. I
:21:30. > :21:35.apologise. It is a lovely thing to go through morning sickness and you
:21:36. > :21:40.get a lovely bundle of joy. This year, what you think of the class of
:21:41. > :21:43.2016? What a year! What a bunch. Brilliant cast. I think this is the
:21:44. > :21:49.highest standard of dancing we have seen ever. We say that every year
:21:50. > :21:55.and people get cross, but it has been stunning. I can't remember a
:21:56. > :22:00.better year. The semifinal, the atmosphere, people physically were
:22:01. > :22:04.shaking, the standard of dancing, all of them. Extraordinary. Did you
:22:05. > :22:09.both cry? I was sobbing at home and I'm dangerously hormonal! We love
:22:10. > :22:12.you wonderful partnership on screen and off screen. What is the best
:22:13. > :22:17.part of working together? She makes me die laughing all the time! We
:22:18. > :22:22.have a proper laugh! Doing rehearsals. We become like baboons!
:22:23. > :22:29.Not in a bad way! We are telepathic I look at you and I play with your
:22:30. > :22:33.hair. I'm always like that. So you can communicate with each other's
:22:34. > :22:41.minds? She bakes Brownies sometimes, the best! I feel bad when I buy a
:22:42. > :22:48.packet of biscuits and I think, I had better do something, Claudia is
:22:49. > :22:53.doing Brownies. They go, it is really terrible and I go, cinnamon
:22:54. > :22:57.bun, anyone? This weekend, amazing moments, we have to relive it, this
:22:58. > :23:06.is a quick reminder. Are you sure that is a good idea? Absolutely. Oh!
:23:07. > :23:23.Over the series, Louise has gained plenty of supporters and...
:23:24. > :23:28.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I apologise! It is just hilarious. My favourite
:23:29. > :23:33.bits, I love this girl so much. I'm constantly holding a banana or
:23:34. > :23:39.pretending to do this, orchestral! And she is looking at me like...
:23:40. > :23:45.Tolerating it. But to make you go like that, it was so cute. Honestly,
:23:46. > :23:49.her face, do the face was just so brilliant. What you could not see is
:23:50. > :23:54.that she was lying on the matches that of all lying back taunting me
:23:55. > :23:57.like this, smiling and pointing! Crying with laughter! I could not
:23:58. > :24:03.hold it together. And the lovely audience on the right. We had not
:24:04. > :24:07.planned where I would go so I thought, should I squirrel away? It
:24:08. > :24:13.was so confusing. You had never for one that hard! You did go for it!
:24:14. > :24:19.Age in the floor manager was in charge and in rehearsals, he was
:24:20. > :24:24.pulling it and I said, just Pollitt. The face was already falling off!
:24:25. > :24:33.And I loved bold macro. That was hilarious. -- old Claud. Len was
:24:34. > :24:37.saying in series one he was thinking, I'm not sure this is going
:24:38. > :24:42.to work, do you remember back then, what did you think? We did two
:24:43. > :24:46.series in 2004 in March and October and I had a baby for the second one
:24:47. > :24:51.and I went back halfway and we had no idea we would be still hear these
:24:52. > :24:54.years later is. It started small, the first series, we had six
:24:55. > :25:01.celebrities and the second we had eight celebrities and it just grew.
:25:02. > :25:06.It grew in popularity and who knew? Next year, 25 contestants! We will
:25:07. > :25:14.begin in March! I think everybody would love it to run longer. In the
:25:15. > :25:21.States, they've two series a year. And Len will say se-ven! For the
:25:22. > :25:24.last time at the weekend. How much are you going to miss him and his
:25:25. > :25:31.pickle me walnuts? I hang on his every word. I love him, and we were
:25:32. > :25:37.doing a masterclass and it was my favourite part of it. And he is the
:25:38. > :25:41.King. I keep thinking maybe it is a joke and I'm like, see you in
:25:42. > :25:48.August, Len. He goes, no art, I'm not coming, I think it will be
:25:49. > :25:51.horrible. I can't imagine him not there. He is the daddy! Keeps them
:25:52. > :25:54.under control. Now, between you, the pair
:25:55. > :25:57.of you have asked the pros a lot So today, our pros are getting
:25:58. > :26:03.their own-back in a ground-breaking We literally couldn't play
:26:04. > :26:11.it with anyone else. I love you. I love you more! We have
:26:12. > :26:22.a question for you. If you could dance with one
:26:23. > :26:35.of us, who would it be? Who who is your favourite? Really
:26:36. > :26:43.easy, I know! You know what to say. Cheeky! We love them both.
:26:44. > :26:52.Blackpool, we would dance with each of them equally. Yes, we did. Anton.
:26:53. > :26:58.You know them so well, they are gorgeous. So talented and so funny.
:26:59. > :27:03.Those two, really naughty. Next, we have a question from Oti.
:27:04. > :27:04.Hello. If you had to dance one
:27:05. > :27:13.dance, what would it be? Mine would be the Argentine tango.
:27:14. > :27:19.Could that happen? So passionate, so intense. I think at the wrap party.
:27:20. > :27:26.I would not want anybody else to see it. I will make an elaborate home
:27:27. > :27:36.video. I like the really livid ones and you have to look grumpy. I like
:27:37. > :27:40.the paso, like that! Like a Pirate! You and Ed Balls, wrap party, it is
:27:41. > :27:43.You and Ed Balls, wrap party, it is a dream!
:27:44. > :27:51.There have been many fun couples in Strictly over the years.
:27:52. > :27:54.If you had to bring back one couple from any past
:27:55. > :27:56.series for the final, who would it be?
:27:57. > :28:04.I think she is hinting. I loved her and Ed. I missed Alesha Dixon, she
:28:05. > :28:09.has the best laugh I have ever heard! All I could hear was... It is
:28:10. > :28:20.from there and you could hear it seven floors away! Hashimi was
:28:21. > :28:27.pretty mean. Who would you like to see, dream booking, next year? David
:28:28. > :28:31.Cameron. Alistair Campbell. I love Alistair Campbell! We adore the two
:28:32. > :28:37.of view, have the best final on Saturday. So exciting, I can't wait.
:28:38. > :28:40.Give it up for Tess and Claudia. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
:28:41. > :28:42.That's all we've got time for tonight, I'm afraid.
:28:43. > :28:49.Join me tomorrow night, when I'll be here with Ore and Joanne.
:28:50. > :28:52.Vicky Gill will be sharing her Final show-stopping costume designs.
:28:53. > :28:55.And we'll be chatting to a special panel of our