Beth Tweddle crowned DOI champion

Beth Tweddle has been crowned champion of Dancing On Ice 2013, following a closely fought final showdown against Matt Lapinskas.

The Olympic gymnast triumphed after both she and Matt made one last bid for the title by performing their versions of Torvill and Dean's Bolero - a traditional finale for the celebrity skating show.

Earlier in the final boxer Luke Campbell finished in third place, missing out on the chance to perform the Bolero with his partner Jenna Smith.

Beth had been the bookies' favourite to take the prize, with odds of 4-5 on being named winner - but faced some stiff competition from Matt, who scored perfect 40s from the judges for both his routines in the first half of the final.

And despite the odds being in her favour she admitted afterwards that she was "speechless", adding: "It was amazing."

She also paid tribute to Matt's performance, saying: "All credit goes to Matt. He's done amazing skates tonight."

Matt, meanwhile, also praised Beth for her efforts and said: "It's been an amazing 10 weeks," he said, "I've actually fallen in love with skating."

Although Beth did not score as highly as Matt did in her two routines earlier in the show, she still impressed the judges with her performances - including Jason Gardiner, who had previously accused her of lacking in personality.

She scored 36.5 for her first performance to the disco classic Car Wash - which also featured professionals Andy Buchanan and Sylvain Longchambon - with Robin Cousins calling the performance "incredibly entertaining" and Jason adding: "Thank you, that is exactly what I want. It was strong, vibrant...you were giving me attitude."

Beth also reprised her performance to Emeli Sande's Clown from week five's Valentine-themed show - and scored 37.5 for the routine, seven points more than it received the first time around.

Sunday night's show also featured the return of the 'class of 2013', as the celebrities who had previously been voted off the show made one last reappearance.

Although Lauren Goodger had been ruled out of skating for medical reasons everybody else took to the ice, including Gareth Thomas.

The rugby ace had been on course for a place in the final until he was forced to withdraw from the competition last week after suffering severe motion sickness during rehearsals for his semi-final flying routine.

Beth - the only celebrity skater who avoided the bottom two for the entire series - is the first woman to be crowned Dancing On Ice champion since Hayley Tamaddon in 2010.

Her win also completes a hat-trick for her professional partner Dan Whiston, who previously won the 2006 series with Gaynor Faye, and was also Hayley's skating partner.