Fleur East reflects on 'adventure of a lifetime' following Strictly Final
We are so proud of her!
Last updated 19th Dec 2022
Hits Radio's very own Fleur East has been showing off her incredible moves alongside professional dancer Vito Coppola during her Strictly Come Dancing journey and the Final was no different!
The Final took place on Saturday 17th December, with Fleur and Vito joined by Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal, Helen Skelton and Gorka Márquez, as well as Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.
Fleur and Vito were 'Hot Hot Hot', dancing a sizzling Samba to Arrow's hit song. Incredible outfits? TICK! Amazing moves? TICK! PERFECT score? TICK! Not only was it their first 40 out of 40 of the night and the only Judges' Pick to score 40, but they are the second couple in Strictly history to get a perfect score for a Samba.
Next up was their Showdance to 'Find Me' by Sigma ft Birdy which scored an incredible 39, with judge Craig Revel Horwood unfortunately not finding the 10 paddle, but it was back for their final dance... Couple's Choice to 'Destiny's Child Megamix' by Destiny's Child. The glittery jumpsuit was back, as was the perfect score from Blackpool. 40 out of 40 for Fleur!
The day after the Final took place, Fleur and Vito shared a joint Instagram post reflecting on their Strictly experience, thanking fans for their support and congratulating Hamza and Jowita on their win. Posting a photo of themselves posing during their Couple's Choice, they 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. ❤️✨🪩'.
What an amazing journey Fleur has had! Keep reading to see some of her performances, scores and memorable moments from her time on Strictly.
What did Fleur East dance to in the Strictly Come Dancing Final?
Judges' Pick - Samba to 'Hot, Hot, Hot' by Arrow: Score = 40
Watch Fleur East and Vito Coppola perform the Samba:
Showdance - 'Find Me' by Sigma ft Birdy: Score = 39
Watch Fleur East and Vito Coppola's Showdance:
Favourite Dance - Couple's Choice to 'Destiny's Child Megamix' by Destiny's Child: Score = 40
Watch Fleur East and Vito Coppola dance their Couple's Choice:
Who won Strictly Come Dancing 2022?
Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal were the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 winners.
Check out Fleur East's amazing journey on Strictly Come Dancing:
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 Hits 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!"
Fleur, who presents Hits Radio Breakfast with Fleur East alongside James Barr and producer Matt, first announced she'd signed up for the 2022 series back in August.
Announcing the news to her co-presenters live on air, Fleur couldn't contain her excitement, revealing it had been a major struggle to keep the news a secret.
After discovering she'd been paired with new dancer Vito during the pre-recorded launch show, Fleur made a great start, scoring an impressive 29 out of 40 in Week One, following her high-energy Cha Cha Cha to 'Let's Get Loud' by Jennifer Lopez.
She also scored 29 out of 40 in Week Two, with her Viennese Waltz to 'Glimpse Of Us' by Joji.
Despite scoring 29 out of 40 during Movie Week, Fleur and Vito found themselves in the bottom two alongside Richie Anderson, much to the shock and anger of fans. Following a tense dance-off, Fleur was saved by the judges.
Fleur certainly bounced back in Week Four, scoring her first 10s of the series following an amazing Argentine Tango with Vito, before going on to perform an impressive Jive in Week Five.
However, Fleur found herself in the bottom two for the second time during Halloween Week, and despite a little fall during the dance-off alongside James Bye, the judges chose to save Fleur.
Despite this, she bounced back again in Week Seven, performing a stunning Waltz, before stepping up her game yet again in Week Eight. Fleur and Vito topped the leaderboard with a score of 39/40 with their sizzling Samba to 'Hot Hot Hot'.
Taking to the dancefloor at the Blackpool Tower during Week Nine, Fleur became the first celeb of the series to get a perfect score of 40, following her Couple's Choice to a Destiny's Child Megamix.
Fleur once again showed off her talent during Week 10, performing a very technical Rumba. Despite finding herself in the bottom two, all four judges chose to save Fleur, sending Ellie home.
During Week 11's Quarter Final, Fleur scored 38 out of 40 for her amazing Quickstep, earning her a spot in the Semi Final.
Week 12 was the Semi Final, which saw Fleur and Vito perform two routines; a Paso Doble to 'The Time Is Now' by Moloko and then a Charleston to 'Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano' by Fiorello, ending the night with a score of 74/80 in third place on the leaderboard.
The pair put on an amazing show but unfortunately ended up in the dance off against Will Mellor and Nancy Xu. After dancing the Charleston again, the judges chose to keep Fleur in the competition, with Will being sent home.
Week 13: The final - Fleur East and Vito Coppola danced three dances: Their Judges' Pick was a Samba to 'Hot Hot Hot' by Arrow, a Showdance to 'Find Me' by Sigma ft Birdy and their Favourite Dance was their Couple's Choice to 'Destiny's Child Megamix' by Destiny's Child.
Fleur scored a huge score of 119 out of 120 on the night!
She may not have won, but Fleur certainly did us all proud and is a winner to us! ❤️
Watch some of the best moments we've shared with Fleur and Vito on Hits Radio:
How can I listen to Fleur East on Hits Radio?
You can listen to Fleur East on Hits Radio Breakfast every weekday morning from 6am. You can also hear Fleur every Saturday morning from 9am.
Now read:
Fleur East's career highlights from The X Factor to Hits Radio Breakfast presenter
Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Everything you need to know
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