By Matthew Gormley @MatthewPGormley

Saturday night was the Grand Final of Strictly 2016, with three celebrities taking part in one final ballroom battle in a bid to be crowned Strictly Champions.

You know Christmas is on your doorstep when you’re settling down to watch the Strictly Come Dancing Grand Final, traditionally always held on the final Saturday before the big day. Back in September, 15 brand new celebrities walked the red carpet at the launch of another year of Strictly; some of them you’d never heard of, others you were quite impressed by. As always, there were stand-out stars from the offset and the odd token idiot you had a feeling was going to go all the way regardless, but after 13 weeks of sizzling Salsas and tantalising Tangos, it all comes down to one last ballroom battle.

Our 2016 finalists were Danny Mac and his partner Oti Mabuse, Louise Rednkapp and her partner Kevin Clifton (for whom this was his fourth consecutive final) and Ore Oduba and his partner Joanne Clifton. Danny Mac has long been the favourite since he wowed the judges and audience alike with that sensational Cha Cha Cha in week one. Ore has proven himself to be the dark horse of the competition, frequently wowing with routines including his impeccable Singin’ In The Rain themed American Smooth. Louise, meanwhile, started the competition as a wholly average dancer, a shy flower who struggled to get to grips with the threadbare costumes and battled with her confidence on the dance floor. In my opinion, she is the one who earned her place in the Final the most, as she improved week on week and went on to become one of the strongest dancers in the competition.

Due to the withdrawal of Will Young early on in the competition, we’ve been a couple down throughout the rest of the series. Luckily, this didn’t spoil proceedings too much, as, for the last four years, there have been four couples in the Final, so instead this year we were left with the original three. However, the producers appeared to view this as much more of a problem than it really was, and dropped the traditional format. We normally see three couples performing two dances each, before one is knocked out by public vote and the competition continues with the three remaining couples. Instead, Danny, Louise and Ore all performed their three dances one after the other, before one was crowned the winner. Not nearly as exciting, as there was no suspense and it somewhat hampered the atmosphere and left the evening feeling a little flat.

First up was the Judges Choice, where the finalists were told by Craig, Darcey, Bruno and departing Len, which dance of the series they wanted to see them perform again. Next, it was time for the spectacular Showdances, freestyle routines where the rule book is scrapped, leaving the couples to perform in whichever style they like, to music of their choice, giving them a chance to incorporate all the skills they’ve learned during their time on the show. Ore and Joanne’s Showdance was astonishing, performed to ‘I Got Rhythm’ by George and Ira Gershwin from the musical Girl Crazy. It was a dazzling showpiece which oozed 1930s glamour, harking back to the golden age of Hollywood. A definite standout moment involved Ore and Joanne dancing on a giant drum kit, seamlessly moving from one drum to the other. Ore admitted that it almost went horribly wrong when the judges praised this intricate piece of choreography, but we wouldn’t have noticed. It was reminiscent of Tom Chambers’ 2008 Showdance to ‘If My Friends Could See My Now’, which is widely regarded as one of the best we’ve ever seen.

Louise and Kevin’s contemporary Showdance was performed to Whitney Houston’s ‘One Moment In Time’, a piece of music which lent itself beautifully to a Rhumba-based routine with slow-motion lifts and lots of running into each other’s arms.

Danny and Oti’s fierce, passionate and energetic Showdance to Adele’s ‘Set Fire To The Rain’, in which they danced through a mirror, was another showstopper. There are really no comparisons to be made between the routines, as all three were very different concepts, but Danny and Oti and Ore and Joanne thoroughly deserved their perfect 40 scores.

Once all nine dances had been performed, it was straight to the result, without even the infamous long pause before the names are announced. It’s hard to decide how much of a surprise it was to see Ore and Joanne lifting the Glitterball trophy. Whilst Danny had been the stand out favourite from the beginning, it would have been slightly too predictable for him to waltz away with the crown. Ore thoroughly earned his title. As a sports presenter with absolutely no dance experience, he is quintessentially what the magnificent spectacle of an entertainment programme is really all about.

Last night show also featured a tribute to retiring Head Judge Len Goodman, who has the been the daddy of the judging panel since Strictly first tiptoed onto our screens back in 2004. It’s hard to imagine the panel without him at the helm. With his cheesy puns and metaphorical anecdotes, he’s created a lovable, cheeky chappy image for himself and has become entertaining in his own right. Always remaining calm and level-headed among the chaos and calamity of Bruno and providing a little sweetness to take the bitterness away from Craig’s catty put-downs, he’s offered constructive criticism and kept the lively foursome in check, not to mention the fact that he’s an incredibly experienced and knowledgeable ballroom dancer. Describing himself as ‘a cup of tea in a world of skinny lattes’, Len has never apologised for the fact that he’s an old-school dancer who doesn’t approve of an over-produced routine full of gimmicks. Last night, he was visibly moved as the professional dancers came together to perform a beautiful, traditional Waltz, just the way he likes to see it performed.

So although Len won’t be back in 2017, I’m already on countdown to next September, when we’ll be back in the world of sequins and glitter to do it all over again. Until then, my Saturday nights will have a giant Strictly-shaped hole in them.