Yahoo News Strictly 2023: Who do you think should win? Have your say
Which of this year's finalists is the most worthy to lift the Glitterball Trophy this Saturday?
Strictly Come Dancing is just days away from its 2023 grand final, with three talented celebrities in the running to lift the Glitterball Trophy.
Saturday night's live final will be the culmination of months of hard work in the training room and on the dancefloor - but who deserves to win?
Whether you think the best dancer or the person who has improved the most should be crowned champion, there's an argument for each of the three finalists to dance their way to victory this weekend.
Who should win Strictly Come Dancing 2023?
Ellie Leach
Former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach has long been the favourite to win this year's series - but will the bookies' predictions come true?
Leach and her partner Vito Coppola have consistently been amongst the contest's highest scorers, with her marks going from strength to strength in the past few weeks.
The semi-final saw Leach given 37 and 38 points for her two dances, a Couple's Choice and a Cha Cha, putting her on a strong footing for the final week of training.
She might be just behind Layton Williams in the scores, but viewers have taken to Leach thanks to her lack of professional dance experience which could just give her the edge to win in the public vote.
Strictly fans also seem keen on the rumour that she and Coppola have found romance away from the dancefloor, although they have never confirmed whether they are dating.
Layton Williams
There's no denying that West End star Layton Williams is not only the best dancer in the series, he's also one of the best ever to have taken to the Strictly dancefloor.
However, some viewers have had a problem with him being a stage performer in his day job - as well as having appeared in TV series Bad Education, he has also starred in several big name West End shows as a singer and dancer, including the Billy Elliott musical and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
Strictly fans have a long history of turning against anyone with too much dance experience, with Ashley Roberts, Faye Tozer and Debbie McGee all having faced similar criticism.
On the other hand, Williams' fans have admired the way he has come back each week after social media trolling and he and partner Nikita Kuzmin have certainly faced a tougher level of judging than the others.
He earned his second perfect 40 in the semi-final and one thing's for sure, viewers can expect a thrilling performance from Williams in the final.
Bobby Brazier
Strictly fans love a training journey, and model and EastEnders star Bobby Brazier has arguably seen the steepest learning curve out of the three finalists.
Brazier started the series with absolutely zero previous dance experience and even admitted to never having watched the show before.
However, week by week he has started to gain control of his long limbs and partner Dianne Buswell has helped him to transform into a very competent dancer who even managed to score two 10s in the semi-final.
The soap actor has shown he is keen to learn and takes on board the judges' criticisms each week, so if viewers are looking for the most improved dancer, Brazier could well get their vote.
Who do the bookies think will win Strictly?
There's been no change in the recent order of who the bookies expect to lift the trophy on Saturday, but there is always a chance that viewers will see an upset on the night.
According to William Hill, Leach is still the favourite to win with odds of 1/8, while Williams is in second on 13/2 and Brazier is the outsider at 10/1.
But as fans of the BBC One contest will know, it can all change by the time the last couple has put in their final performance.
In 2021, AJ Odudu had to drop out just a couple of days before the final with an ankle injury, leaving two finalists battling it out on the night.
As it's a live show, there is always the chance that one couple could make a catastrophic footwork error, or another unlikely champion could put in the performance of their lives.
It's still all to dance for until Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly name the 2023 winner on Saturday night.
Strictly Come Dancing's grand final airs on BBC One at 7pm on Saturday.
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