Fleur East surprises 7-year-old girl waiting for bionic arm
Fleur East has sent a message of support to superfan Thalia Coultas
A seven-year-old girl from Selby, in North Yorkshire, says she can't quite believe Strictly Star Fleur East sent her a video message.
We spoke to Thalia Coultas earlier this month after her family managed to raise enough money to get her a new bionic arm.
She told us she loves Strictly Come Dancing and wants to be a singer when she grows up.
So we arranged a little surprise and got Fleur to record a message for Thalia!
In the video Fleur calls Thalia a super-hero, while Thalia says she hopes Fleur will win Strictly!
Thalia will finally get her Open Hero Bionics Arm fitted this month after her family launched a fundraising campaign. She was born with an arm that had not been formed and was only entitled to a non-functional NHS prosthetic.
A fundraising campaign means she can now get a more specialised prosthetic meaning she can open and close her fist.
Thalia will finally receive her new arm on 18th of November and says she's most looking forward to being able to hold a knife and fork at the same time.
Fleur East's Strictly journey so far
Fleur gets announced for Strictly
On Thursday 11th August, Fleur confirmed on the Hits Radio Breakfast show that she'd signed up for Strictly Come Dancing! She said: I'm equally nervous and thrilled to be part of this year's Strictly line up. I'm excited to learn new skills and I want to soak up every moment of this magical experience. It's such an honour to be on the show after years of watching it with my Father who loved it so much."
Fleur discovers her professional partner
During the pre-recorded launch show on Friday 23rd September, it was revealed that Fleur had been paired with new dancer Vito Coppola.
Week One: Fleur and Vito perform the Cha Cha Cha
Fleur and Vito gave an incredible Cha Cha Cha performance during the first live show on Saturday 24th September, getting an impressive score of 29/40 from the judges.
Week Two: Fleur and Vito perform a Viennese Waltz
In Week Two, Fleur performed her first ballroom dance in the form of a Viennese Waltz to 'Glimpse Of Us' by Joji. After picking up another score of 29/40, Fleur made it through to Movie Week.
Week Three: Fleur and Vito perform an American Smooth
During Movie Week, Fleur and Vito performed an American Smooth to 'Part Of Your World' from The Little Mermaid. The pair finished in 6th place on the leaderboard with a score of 29/40.
Week Three: Fleur finds herself in the bottom two
Despite her amazing routine, Fleur was in the bottom two during the Movie Week results show, alongside Richie Anderson. After a tense dance-off, three out of four of the judges chose to save Fleur and Vito.
Week Four: Fleur scores her first 10s of the series
Following the disappointment of finding herself in the bottom two last week, Fleur performed an Argentine Tango with partner Vito in Week Four, where she picked up her first 10s of the series. With an overall score of 38/40, Fleur found herself second on the leaderboard, sailing through to Week Five.
Week Five: Fleur and Vito transform into ABBA
To celebrate 100 years of the BBC, Fleur and Vito transformed into ABBA in Week Five, performing a Jive to hit track 'Waterloo'. Fleur finished in fourth place on the leaderboard, making it through to Week Six following the public vote.
Fleur opens up about her Strictly journey so far
Speaking on the Hits Radio Breakfast Show ahead of her Week Six performance, Fleur said: "I watch myself back and I'm like 'who is that woman?'"
Week Six: Fleur performs a Salsa to 'Break My Soul' by Beyoncé
Fleur wowed the crowd as she and Vito hit the floor on Halloween Week to do their Salsa, accompanied by Beyoncé's bop 'Break My Soul'. Despite gaining an impressive score of 32, Fleur and Vito found themselves in the dance-off, up against EastEnders actor James Bye and his professional partner Amy Dowden. With Fleur and Vito smashing their Salsa once more, it was James who we said goodbye to.
Week Seven: Fleur performs a stunning Waltz
Dusting herself off from being in the bottom two in Week 6, Fleur performed a beautiful Waltz alongside Vito during Week 7, scoring an impressive 35/40. The pair made it through to Week 8 during the public vote.
Fleur opens up about appearing in her second dance-off
After Fleur found herself in the dance-off again, this time up against James Bye and his partner Amy Dowden, she and Vito were saved by the judges. Opening up about being in the dance off again, Fleur said: "Another Halloween scare for me! I was like surely not, surely the Strictly gods are smiling down on me - it's my birthday! I honestly thought 'this is it, I'm gone' because I was in the dance off again, so I was prepared but I was so very, very thankful to the judges for saving us. I'm having such a good time, I love dancing with Vito and I feel like we've got so much more to show, so I'm really happy we're here for another week."
Week Eight: Fleur performs a sizzling samba
Fleur East and Vito Coppola wowed in Week Eight on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor as they performed a sizzling samba to 'Hot Hot Hot' by Arrow. The dance won high praise from the judges, with Shirley Ballas calling it "one of the best sambas we've seen". Fleur and Vito scored 39 points and topped the leaderboard.
Fleur East gets HUGE surprise in Blackpool
To celebrate Fleur getting to Blackpool Week on Strictly, we brought the Downtown Radio Breakfast show to you from Blackpool! James and Matt also went the extra mile and surprised her with a plane flying over pulling a 'Vote Fleur on Strictly' banner.
Fleur was overcome with emotion, saying: "How did you pull this off? It looks so good guys I'm actually quite emotional. I don't know if it's the wind in my eye or I'm actually crying – you're amazing, you absolutely smashed it. This is so cool."
Week Nine: Fleur scores 40 with Couple's Choice
Week Nine was certainly a special one! Not only did the show take place in the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom, but Fleur and Vito got the first perfect score of the 2022 series! All of the judges awarded them a 10 for their Couple's Choice to 'Destiny's Child Megamix'. Go Fleurito!
Fleur East shares behind the scenes Strictly secrets
After several weeks on the series, Fleur opened up about the prep that goes into getting ready for Strictly each week. She revealed that they get their makeup done on the Saturday morning, adding: "Then halfway through the day you go back and they touch you up and add things so it's like a whole process throughout the day and your make-up gets more and more elaborate as the day goes on!"
Fleur also explained that the music they practice to is different from what they perform to, saying: "In rehearsals we practice with the original track. So we get used to all the sounds and instruments on the original.
"But then on Saturday morning that's the first time we hear it with the band so it's a completely different version, although they play it as close to the original as possible, because it's a different singer with a different intonation in their voice and the instruments sound slightly different."
Fleur is late for the Breakfast show after tough rehearsals
In preparation for dancing the Rumba, Fleur was putting in some pretty late nights and ended up being late for the Breakfast show one morning. Talking about how practice was going, she said: "The Rumba is really intense and a lot of technique so I was Rumba-ing late into the night with Vito and my hips are so sore – I've never moved my hips so much in my life! Every week is a reset it's a brand-new show again, new dance, new technique so you've got to start again."
Week 10: Fleur East and Vito dance the rumba
Fleur East and Vito Coppola returned to the dance floor with a Rumba set to Sugababes' song 'Too Lost in You' and their passion was incredible! The dance was technically difficult and the pair scored 35 out of 40 placing them mid-table.
Week Ten: Fleur finds herself in the bottom two
Following her incredible Rumba during Week Ten of the competition, Fleur found herself in the bottom two alongside Ellie Taylor. However, following a tense dance-off, Fleur was saved by all four judges.
Fleur East reflects on her third dance off
Despite an amazing performance in Week 10, Fleur and Vito were in the dance off for the third time of the series, and Fleur opened up about the experience.
She said: "You don't know what's going to happen in the dance and it's based on that dance. So if I mess it up or my mind goes blank, you just don't know what's going to happen under pressure."
She added: "Because it was the hardest dance I've had to learn so far, the Rumba is so hard, I was quite glad I could do it again and show the judges I had taken their notes on. I'm happy with it but I'm glad that it's out the way now."
Week 11: Fleur East performs a Quickstep for Quarter Final
Week Eleven was Musicals Week, which saw Fleur and Vito perform a Quickstep to 'I Got Rhythm' from An American In Paris. They scored 38 and were in the middle of the leaderboard, with the routine earning them a spot in the Semi Final!
Fleur East reflects on emotional Quarter Final
In their preparation for the Semi Finals, Fleur opened up about how emotional her and Vito had been during the Quarter Final. She explained: "It was the most nervous Vito and I had been standing there waiting to hear the results. I wear a ring on my pinkie finger that's made from my dad's ring after he passed away, and I always hold it when it comes to results night and before we perform.
"For the first time ever, Vito was standing with me, and he held it. He felt really emotional and as soon as Tess called our names out, we were so grateful it felt amazing."
Looking ahead to the Semi Finals, which requires all couples to perform two routines, Fleur said: "The pressure is on."
Week 12: Fleur East dances the Paso Doble
The Semi Final saw two amazing performances from Fleur and Vito. They danced a powerful Paso Doble to 'The Time Is Now' by Moloko which earned them 35/40 points from the judges.
Anton Du Beke said it was an "exceptional performance" and called it Fleur's: "Best dance for the whole season."
Fleur East performs the Charleston in the Semi Final
In Week 12, Fleur and Vito also performed an upbeat, Italian-inspired Charleston to 'Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano' by Fiorello. This routine really wowed the judges, with Craig Revel Horwood calling it: "Absolutely amazing," and the panel giving them an incredible 39/40! They finished the Semi Finals in third place on the leaderboard.
Vito gives sweet speech about Fleur
After Fleur and Vito had performed both dances, Claudia Winkleman asked Vito why Fleur deserves to be in the final and he was full of praise for his dance partner. He said:: "Fleur is one of the best people I have ever met in my life, she is so humble, she is a pure soul. She doesn't know this but she saved me from a tough period that I had. She is so brave but humble, she never says no. She is so grateful and I am so proud of you."
Week 12: Fleur faces the dance off
Fleur and Vito ended up in the dance off against Will Mellor and Nancy Xu in the Semi Final. After they performed their Charleston again, the judges chose to keep Fleur and Vito in the competition, making them Strictly Finalists!
Week 13: Bring on the Strictly final!
On Saturday 17th December Fleur East, Hamza Yassin, Helen Skelton and Molly Rainford took to the dance floor in hopes of becoming the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 winner.
Week 13: Fleur East and Vito Coppola score 40 for 'Hot Hot Hot'
Fleur and Vito were 'Hot Hot Hot', dancing a sizzling Samba to Arrow's hit song and scoring 40! Incredible! They also scored 40 again for their dance to 'Destiny's Child Megamix', and received a score of 119 out of 120 for the Final - the highest of the night!
Week 13: The results are in
Despite topping the leaderboard, Fleur and Vito didn't win the series - though they won many hearts and lots of praise! The winner of the Strictly Come Dancing final 2022 was Hamza Yassin and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystal.
Fleur East reflects on her Strictly journey
Following an unbelievable 13 weeks of dancing, Fleur reflected on her Strictly Come Dancing journey and thanked fans for their support. In an Instagram post with Vito, the pair wrote: 'Wow! What a ride! This entire experience has been incredible. We made memories we will cherish forever, friends we will keep for a lifetime and shared moments that are priceless.
'Congratulations to Hamza and Jowita for winning, we are so happy for you! But above all else, we feel like we won because we found each other. Thank you for all of your support and love. Thank you Strictly, for the adventure of a lifetime. ❤️✨🪩'.
Fleur East gets announced for Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour
Just days after the Final, it was announced that Fleur and Vito would be part of the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour line-up which has shows scheduled across the UK in January and February 2023.
The line-up also includes Helen Skelton and Kai Widdrington, Will Mellor and Nancy Xu, Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu, Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin, Tyler West and Dianne Buswell and this year's winners, Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal.
Speaking about the tour, Fleur said: "As a huge Strictly fan, being part of the TV competition has been an unbelievable experience and I'm absolutely over the moon to have the chance to get back into those fabulous sequinned outfits for the live tour next year!"
Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.