Strictly Come Dancing final 2021: What to expect from the final

The big night is here for Strictly fans, where someone will be declared the Glitterball champ for 2021.

Rose and Giovanni will take on John and Johannes after AJ Odudu and her partner Kai had to pull out of the Strictly Come Dancing final.

EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis and TV chef John Whaite will perform three dances each in Saturday's finale, which starts at 7.10pm on BBC One.

Earlier this week it was revealed that AJ had injured her foot badly and was unable to train.

AJ heartbreak

AJ said she was "deeply upset" not to be able to take part in the final, after 13 weeks of competing.

But she wished the best of luck to her "partners in dance", the remaining Strictly finalists - John and Johannes and Rose and Giovanni.

A producer for Strictly Come Dancing said: "Although this is not how we would have wanted her Strictly journey to end, AJ's health and wellbeing come first and everyone involved in the show sends her all our love and wish her a speedy recovery."

Votes, not high scores will win it!

The Strictly celebs in full

In last weekend's semi-final, both AJ and Rose scored 79 out of a possible 80 points, while John scored 78.

However, unlike the rest of the series, the judges' scores will not count towards the final result.

The winner is decided entirely by viewer votes.

Neither of the two remaining pro dancers have won Strictly before, but Giovanni has come close several times.

He previously made it to the final in 2018, 2017 and 2015 with Faye Tozer, Debbie McGee and Georgia May Foote respectively.

Many of stars of this year's series are expected to appear in Saturday's show, but Tilly Ramsay will not be able to attend after testing positive for coronavirus.

A positive experience for many

This year's result will be ground-breaking for Strictly - a victory for Rose would make her the first deaf winner of the show.

A win for John and Johannes, meanwhile, would mark the show's first victory for a same-sex couple.

Rose's appearance on Strictly has triggered an increase in interest for British Sign Language lessons.

One director of a British Sign Language course said that requests for lessons have increased by 2,000% since she began competing on Strictly Come Dancing.

Many are praising the finalists for brining awareness to the LGBTQ+ and deaf communities

And many in the LGBTQ+ community have been celebrating John and Johannes' appearance in the final.

John Whaite spoke about the importance of seeing two men dancing together on TV, praising the positive responses he has received.

"The amount of people we've had messages from saying: 'I'm proud as a straight mum and straight dad to have children grow up in a world where two men can dance together,' has been truly overwhelming," he told the BBC.

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