Rachel Flynn
Live reporter

Image source, BBC/PA

Strictly Come Dancing is over for another year.

The lasting image will be of comedian Chris McCausland lifting the coveted Glitterball trophy and being crowned the 2024 ballroom champion.

Alongside his partner Dianne Buswell, the pair produced iconic and inspiring Strictly moments - including their moment of darkness to illustrate his experience being blind - and made the judge's tear up week after week with their friendship.

And it's not just Chris who has made this series so special - whether it was the Waltz, Samba or Jive, contestants battled their fears live on air. There was stumbles and stiffness, with some dancers stronger than others, but that's what the show is all about.

I've absolutely loved it - and we hope you have too.

Thanks for reading our coverage. It was edited by Matt Spivey and written by Hollie Cole, BBC Culture reporter Noor Nanji and myself.

For the latest from the show tonight, Noor has written this piece summing up the Strictly Come Dancing final.

And don't forget, keeeeeeeep dancing!

Image source, BBC/PA Media

Worried about what might fill a Strictly-shaped hole after the final? Fear not, the Strictly Come Dancing 2024 Christmas special will grace our screens on Christmas Day at 16:40 GMT.

The ballroom will transform into a magical winter wonderland, as a new group of celebrities sleigh their way to the studio in Elstree in a bid to be crowned the Strictly Christmas Champion 2024.

The couples involved this year are:

• Comedian Josh Widdicombe and his partner Karen Hauer
• Drag queen Tayce and her partner Kai Widdrington
• Presenter Vogue Williams and her partner Gorka Márquez
• Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and his partner Nancy Xu
• Actress Tamzin Outhwaite and her partner Nikita Kuzmin
• Racing driver Billy Monger and his partner Nadiya Bychkova

And, if that isn't enough, there's also a 20th anniversary special of Strictly at 19:00 on 21 December, called Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous years.

Strictly Come Dancing debuted in May 2004 in the UK, bringing ballroom dancing to a whole new generation.

Pairing celebrities with professional dancers, it has gone on to become one of the most successful TV competitions in the world. In several countries, it’s called Dancing with the Stars.

In 2019, co-creator and executive producer Karen Smith spoke to Ashley Byrne for the BBC's Witness History about the bright, shiny and glittery TV success story - which you can listen to on BBC Sounds.

Noor Nanji
BBC News Culture reporter

Before this year’s Strictly got underway, it had a rocky summer, with a number of former celebrity contestants speaking up about their experiences.

Actress Amanda Abbington, TV stars Zara McDermott and Laura Whitmore and paralympian Will Bayley all spoke out about their experiences on the show, while junior staff told BBC News that the culture behind-the-scenes was "toxic".

In September, the BBC apologised to Abbington and upheld verbal bullying and harassment complaints but cleared her dance partner Giovanni Pernice of the most serious allegations of physical aggression.

The corporation also announced new duty of care measures, including putting chaperones in rehearsals.

Overall, the latest series of Strictly has been largely scandal-free, and those behind the show will be hoping that this can draw a line under a difficult chapter in its 20 year history.

A charity for people who are disabled, Sense, has praised Chris McCausland after he was announced the winner of this series of Strictly.

Steven Morris, who is deaf and blind and also a campaign officer for the charity, says the win will "lead to many more disabled people being included in the biggest TV shows".

"Chris's historic Strictly Come Dancing win goes to show that given opportunities and support, disabled people can break down barriers many wrongly don't think are possible," Morris says.

"Hopefully, Chris's success on this year's Strictly will lead to many more disabled people being included in the biggest TV shows."

Noor Nanji
BBC News Culture reporter

Image source, BBC/PA

He may have been the bookmakers' favourite to win, but Chris McCausland was almost speechless when he heard he won.

He said his win was for his dance partner Dianne Buswell, "and for everyone out there who's got told they couldn't do something or thought they couldn't do it".

"It just shows with opportunity and support and determination, anything can happen," he added.

Spot on – and that just about sums up the spirit of Strictly, doesn’t it.

"It's astonishing, I don't know what to say," the new winner of Strictly Come Dancing says after being asked how it feels.

Chris McCausland who has just been handed the Gliterball trophy, jokes that he thought he'd be "out" of the show in the first couple of weeks, and then he turns to Dianne and says she "deserves" the trophy "so much".

"She's just possibility, she's belief, she is just honestly one of the easiest people to be funny with that I've ever met," he says.

"This [trophy] is for her, and it's for everyone out there that got told they couldn't do something or thought they couldn't do it, and it just shows that with opportunity and support, and just determination, just anything can happen."

Dianne adds "me and you Chris, we did this together."

The winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2024 has just been announced, this year it is Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell taking home the Glitterball trophy.

The musical interlude has just ended and serenading us was London-born singer Raye.

She's best known for her single Escapism, the break-out hit from her debut album My 21st Century Blues.

The 27-year-old has also appeared on a string of top 10 hits in collaboration with other artists, including Bed, Prada, and Secrets.

She made history at the Brit Awards earlier this year when she won six of the seven prizes she was nominated for.

You can watch her performance by pressing "Watch live" at the top of this page.

Voting has now closed. And the winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2024 will soon be announced.

The celebrities and professional dancers have done all they can, and the votes are being counted.

Stay with us as we await the announcement, after a night of incredible performances.

With only a few minutes left until the vote closes, we'll soon be finding out which celebrity and their dance partner will get to call themselves the winners of Strictly Come Dancing 2024.

As a heads up, we will be sharing the result on this page.

So, if you don't want to find out who the winner is - and avoid any spoilers from the final - avoid our upcoming posts.

Rachel Flynn
Live reporter

What a show it's been so far.

There's been tears of joy, cool hips and lots of superlatives from the judges - Anton in particular.

He's called comedian Chris McCausland the "most extraordinary person" the competition has seen, and says influencer Tasha Ghouri is the best dancer they've ever had on the show.

It's been a certified Merry Christmas for JLS star JB Gill too - bagging two perfect scores in the final.

And actress Sarah Hadland, just after receiving her first perfect score, taught us a powerful message - to do things that scare us.

Say what you like about Strictly, but it's impossible not to smile - and yes, okay, sometimes shed a tear - watching how far these celebrities have come.

It clearly means a lot for everyone involved, Chris McCausland even admitting it's been "life-changing".

And with that, this series of Strictly has no more individual dances left - so let's take a look at the total scores everyone has received tonight:

JB's performance of a Samba earnt him another perfect score of 40 points from the judges, giving him a final total score of 119 out of a possible 120.

For her performance to Lewis Capaldi's song Someone You Loved, Tasha also received a perfect score of 40 from the judges, putting her on a tie with JB on 119 points.

Chris's emotional performance got him a score of 40 too from the judges, bringing his total points to 116 out of 120.

A score of 40 was given to the last performance from Sarah tonight, giving her a final score of 118.

• As a reminder, the public vote will decide who wins this series of Strictly, so stick with us as we wait for the winner to be announced this evening.

Image source, BBC/PA

Sarah has performed the last dance of the night - and the scores have ended with a bang.

Craig: 10

Motsi: 10

Shirley: 10

Anton: 10

She received her first perfect score of the competition and says it "means so much".

For the final judge's comments of the nights, judges Motsi and Anton agree it's the best ever Strictly final.

Anton Du Beke says Sarah has blown him away every week, calling her "exceptional".

While head judge Shirley Ballas says: "You walked into the competition unsure of yourself, you're leaving a leading lady".

Noor Nanji
BBC News Culture reporter

Image source, BBC/PA Media

Miranda actress Sarah Hadland, 53, has won praise during the series for her strong messages about women believing in themselves.

In video footage ahead of her routine last month, she said she had received numerous messages from women her age who had given up on dancing.

"Other people aren't telling me what I can and can't do. I am," she said to the camera.

Speaking ahead of the final, Hadland said she went into the contest thinking she was "a very confident person" and someone who knows what she's capable of.

But during the series, she's realised she puts limits on herself.

"Now I've realised it, you don't know it's happened to you and then you say 'oh, how much in other parts of my life am I doing this?'," she said.

"You shouldn't ever reach a point in your life for whatever reason, that you say 'that's me, that's my limit', you shouldn't do that, because you're stopping all these possibilities.”

Next up is Sarah and Vito’s Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna. They performed this in week seven’s Icons Week, where they scored 37 out of 40.

This is the final dance of the night, all eyes will be on Sarah as she takes to the dancefloor.

It's also Sarah's last chance to get a perfect score of 40, which she has narrowly missed out on multiple times.

After an unprecedented hug from Craig, scores for Chris's final dance are in.

Craig: 10

Motsi:10

Shirley: 10

Anton: 10

That brings his total score from the judges this evening to 116 out of a possible 120.