Who won Strictly Come Dancing 2021?

Rose Ayling-Ellis has made Strictly Come Dancing history as the first deaf contestant to win the show.

Rose and her partner Giovanni Pernice lifted the Glitterball Trophy in triumph after an emotional finale.

The pair wowed the judges with their three dances, and brought judge Anton du Beke to tears with their final performance.

Rose, who has championed the deaf community throughout the series, thanked Giovanni and Strictly for helping her grow in confidence.

Speaking with presenter Claudia Winkleman during the show, Rose said: "I've become more me than I've ever been because of Strictly."

Rose and Gio

Rose and Giovanni performed three dances in the finale - one chosen by the judges, one chosen by themselves and a third dance they had prepared.

They received a nearly perfect score for every dance, with the judges praising Rose for her growth throughout the competition and sharing her story.

"I know in your heart you did it for the deaf community but for me you did this for every person watching this show," said head judge Shirley Ballas.

John and Johannes

John and Johannes celebrated their experience on Strictly in their final dance

The runners up, John and Johannes, also moved the judges to tears with their emotional final performance.

Dancing to Candi Staton and The Source's You've Got the Love, they reflected on their journey as the first all-male pairing on the programme, an historic moment for the LGBTQ+ community.

Judge Motsi Mabuse cried with happiness, saying: "I am thinking what a great time it is to be part of Strictly, we are changing so many lives with this dance show."

John and Johannes received the exact same score as Rose and Giovanni - a total of 119 points across their three dances - making it one of the tightest finals in the show's history.

AJ and Kai miss out

AJ posted this image of herself and Kai at the final with her injured foot in a boot

Sadly, finalist AJ Odudu was unable to take part in the show after badly injuring her foot at the beginning of the week.

She was forced to pull out with her partner Kai just the day before the finale aired, but she sat in the audience, cheering for Rose and John throughout.

Speaking to Claudia while waiting for the results, she teared up about missing the chance to perform but thanked Kai for his support.

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran performed his latest No. 1 single as the guest artist

"We've been swallowing tears throughout the night but I'm just so happy," she said.

"I'm genuinely happy and grateful to be here - to have done all those incredible dances, to have learned so much, to have met all these beautiful people..."

Now that the series has finished, there is still more Strictly to look forward to!

A Christmas special is airing on BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day at 5:10pm.

Many of the Strictly professionals will be taking part, with celebrities like singer Anne-Marie and presenter Jay Blades competing to win the one-off show.

Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments!