Strictly Come Dancing's Bill Bailey becomes show's oldest ever winner

Bill Bailey at the flower show
By Georgia Farquharson
published

Bill Bailey won Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night, making him the show's oldest winner in history.

The comedian had the last laugh as he and Oti Mabuse scooped the Glitterball after a breathtaking finale, beating Jamie Laing, Maisie Smith and HRVY to win the coveted title.

When Tess Daly made the announcement, Bill, 55, threw his hands up and said, "What? What? Oh my god!"

"It feels surreal, it feels extraordinary, it feels wonderful," he revealed. "I never thought that we would get this far, I never thought we would get to the final.

"But I have the most extraordinary teacher, the most extraordinary dancer, someone who believed in me right from the beginning.

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"She found something in me and turned me into this, into a dancer, thank you Oti, I love you so much."

It's Oti's second win in just two years after she lifted the Glitterball trophy with Kelvin Fletcher in 2019.

On winning again, she said she owed it all to her partner. "Bill, I think you are amazing, remarkable Bill Bailey, you just put your heart into everything.

"You let me into your world and I always want to be in your world and a part of you.

"Thank you for being a friend, a father figure to me, a brother, and for this!"

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Strictly fans took to Twitter in their hoards to claim "2020 has been saved" by Bill, for doing it not just for the older generation, but for the nation.

His second dance of the night, the show dance, had significant meaning given the current times and recent Tier 4 announcements in parts of the country as he performed to "The Show Must Go On".

Bill dedicated the song as an "anthem of hope" for the country as the ongoing covid-19 pandemic rages on.

In a touching message to the nation, he said, "I think now we have found out the restrictions are going to be even harder, people are going to be isolated at Christmas.

"This is not just about the arts, this is an anthem about not giving up hope, getting through this, this is what it is.

"The show must go on, it's about being strong and getting through this."

The Duchess of Cornwall even made an appearance to echo his sentiment.

Well said, Bill!

Georgia Farquharson
Celebrity writer

Georgia is a Celebrity and Royal Writer working across GoodTo and Woman & Home, and the Director and Founder of communications company Farq Media. Prior to this she was Online Editor at New! Magazine – managing all of their digital content and social media accounts. Where she interviewed all of the hottest reality TV stars and spent far too much time commuting to London. She trained at Nottingham Trent University – where she achieved First Class Honours in Print Journalism whilst juggling copious amounts of work experience, freelance writing, blogging and having far too much fun with the dance society. 

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