Ore Oduba admits he's suffered with nerves throughout Strictly - and he'll be more anxious than ever as he steps out for the final on Saturday night...
Ore Oduba may have topped the leaderboard in last week’s Strictly Come Dancing semi-final thanks to some incredible dance moves – but he admitted he'll still be battling with nerves as he takes to the floor in the final this weekend.
On Saturday night, the BBC sports reporter will be going up against former Hollyoaks actor Danny Mac and singer Louise Redknapp to try and win the glitterball trophy.
Ore (centre) with his fellow Strictly finalists Danny Mac (left) and Louise Redknapp (right)
Talking to reporters at a press conference ahead of the Strictly final, Ore – who’s partnered with pro Joanne Clifton – said: "You learn to manage the nerves a little bit better but still it's incredibly nerve-wracking and I certainly feel like I'm still out of my comfort zone."
He added: “As much as I love dancing, the thought of going out there and dancing a routine you only learnt four days before in front of 12 million people, the more you think about it, the more sweaty you get! The number of times Jo’s had to tell me: ‘calm down’!”
The three remaining celebrities have to perform a few more routines to win votes from the public, one of which will be that all-important 'showdance'. And pro Joanne hinted at what fans can expect.
"Because I think Ore suited quite well the characterisations of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, I’m choreographing our routine to I’ve Got Rhythm,’ Joanne revealed, before teasing: 'All I’m gonna say is we've got massive props."
Ore and Joanne scored 38 out of 40 for their quickstep in last week's semi-final
Ore reckons dancing with Joanne has been the best thing about his Strictly experience.
He said: "The best thing has been learning to dance and also dancing with such an amazing friend. Before I started, I had an idea about how amazing Strictly might be just because of being given the opportunity to dance – but dancing with Jo has just made the experience so much better than I could have dreamt it.
"I didn’t dance at my own wedding, and I certainly didn't do any kind of routine. But to have the opportunity to learn and spend 40 hours a week with someone that you absolutely love, you don’t get to do that. So that's been the best thing."
While all eyes are on which of the three celebrities will win this year’s Strictly, it looks like the real battle on the dancefloor will be between Joanne and her brother Kevin, who's partnered with Louise.
Saturday night will mark Kevin’s fourth Strictly final, while it's a first for sister Joanne.
They all want it - but who will get their hands on the glitterball trophy on Saturday night?
When asked by press conference host Jeremy Vine if their parents were going to be there on Saturday night, Joanne replied: “Of course – one is on my ticket, and one’s on his ticket,” before jokingly adding: “But they vote more for me because I’m the favourite child!”
Kevin, however, immediately shot back: “They told me they were going to vote for Danny and Oti, so they didn’t have to do that.”
Looks like the gloves – or should that be dancing shoes? – are off…
Strictly Come Dancing: The Final can be seen on Saturday December 17 at 6.40pm on BBC1.
