Rachel CandlinWest of England
BBC
George Clarke and Alexis Warr are through to the Strictly Come Dancing final
Strictly Come Dancing finalist George Clarke is getting ready to take to the dancefloor later for the final time with his professional partner Alexis Warr.
The pair will actually be performing three times – dancing the Viennese waltz, a showdance and their week two paso doble, which prompted the judges to say Clarke could be a “frontrunner”.
The Bristolian, known as Clarkey – who previously said he did not expect to get so far in the competition – will be competing against former footballer, Karen Carney, and Love Island winner, Amber Davies.
As he takes to the dancefloor one more time, remind yourself of the highs and lows of his journey from a Tiktoker and podcaster to a “ballroom boy”.
Before starting his Strictly experience, Clarke said he would get “embarrassed doing anything more than a two-step” in a club.
Clarke impressed the judges with his Viennese Waltz footwork
However, the 26-year-old was soon impressing the judges, coming joint second on the leaderboard in week two with a creditable mark of 30 for his paso doble.
The following week he danced to Soda Pop from the animated film KPop Demon Hunters, for which he scored his first nine from head judge Shirley Ballas.
Clarke’s paso doble earned him a score of 30 in week two
Week five saw a downturn in Clarke’s fortunes as he came bottom of the leaderboard for his Harry Styles-inspired jive, which judge Craig Revel Horwood described as “flat-footed” and “stompy”.
After a few weeks of lower-scoring dances, Clarke and Warr came “back with a bang”, Ballas said, describing their Viennese waltz as having “some of the best footwork” she had seen in that style of dance.
The couple’s week five jive saw them at the bottom of the leaderboard
Blackpool week was a defining moment for the social media star, with a salsa performance to a medley of party anthems.
He was awarded an almost-perfect score of 39 and told BBC News his performance “was a bit of a blur”.
A new format in week 10, which saw contestants draw dance styles from a hat and perform them straight afterwards, saw Clarke dancing a tango to When Doves Cry by Prince.
With only 10 seconds to discuss their moves, the couple were preoccupied with Clarke’s choice of outfit – a big red coat – which led them to laugh throughout their routine and be awarded the second-lowest score.
But in last week’s semi-final, judge Revel Horwood said – although he initially had “no hope” for Clarke – he was delighted the star “had proved him completely wrong”.
Judge Anton du Beke added that he wanted Clarke to believe in himself as he wanted to see “more George”.
Guy Levy/PA Wire
Karen Carney (L), George Clarke and Amber Davies are competing against each other for the glitterball trophy
And after performing a Charleston inspired by TV sitcom The Inbetweeners, which earned Clarke a place in the final, Du Beke said: “This dance was you, and the best of you.”
And now the final of the competition approaches – so will the Bristolian lift the glitterball trophy? It will be up to viewers to decide.
Strictly Come Dancing starts at 19:00 GMT on BBC One.