Our Predictions for the Strictly Come Dancing 2024 Final

Back in September, fifteen new couples took to the floor for the landmark 20th anniversary series of the BBC pro-celebrity ballroom contest, Strictly Come Dancing. Now, 91 days and 13 weeks later, just four remain, all vying to lift the glitterball trophy on Saturday's live final.

So with that in mind, we're taking a look at each of the couples left to revisit our earlier predictions we made on this very blog - and see how good their chances are...

• JB Gill and Lauren Oakley

What we said: "The current bookies' favourite, his only real obstacle will be avoiding the same fate that his JLS bandmate Aston Merrygold had, when he did the show back in 2017 partnered with Janette Manrara and they came unstuck in Week 7, leaving the competition way before many thought they would..."

Well, JB has certainly had a rollercoaster ride of a series since it started, what they often refer to on the show as "a journey". Starting off near the top of the leaderboard for the first few weeks, he and his original professional partner Amy Dowden then very nearly came a cropper in Week 5, when their Jive to Outkast's "Hey Ya!" landed them a mid-table finish and a place in the dance off. Then a couple of weeks later on Halloween Week, more disaster struck when Amy had to pull out of the competition altogether, owing to injury.

However, since being partnered with his replacement pro dancer, Lauren Oakley, JB has arguably flourished and come into his own, as they have now come top of the leaderboard for five out of the last six weeks, including last weekend's semi final, where their Salsa to "Red Alert" by Basement Jaxx scored the first perfect 40 for that dance on the show in six years. He may very well therefore, make good on those current bookies odds of 12/1 yet.

• Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola

What we said: "The pressure will undoubtedly be on her to help him lift the glitterball two years on the trot, but as she has also starred in dramas such as Bad Girls and Waterloo Road, we think she'll be fitting into the different characters of each of the many dances with ease, week in, week out..."

13 weeks later, Sarah and Vito are now finalists, making it the third consecutive year on the trot that Vito has made it to the end with his celebrity partner, following Fleur East in 2022 and of course, Ellie Leach last year. They have undoubtedly delivered some of the standout routines of the series; their Bob Fosse inspired Couples Choice routine in Blackpool Week to Kylie Minogue's "Padam Padam" was a particular fan favourite, as was their American Smooth to Heather Small's "Proud", of course referencing the running mask gag of her character, Stevie Sutton, in Miranda.

They are however, one of only two couples from this year's finalists who have not been in the dance off, and are also yet to score a perfect 40, a set of circumstances which has usually been due to low marking from Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas. But sometimes the winner hasn't always been the one with the perfect scores, and the public have quite clearly taken to this pairing through the weekly votes. With odds of 15/1, it'd be a fool who rules them out at this stage.

• Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell

What we said: "As Rose Ayling-Ellis proved, it is possible to achieve the impossible, even with a disability, and so we are predicting the unexpected from Chris..."

If anyone has been the dictionary definition of a dark horse this year, then, as Bill Bailey was to 2020, Chris has been to 2024. Self deprecatingly stating he'd probably be gone by Week 3 to Claudia Winkleman in the launch show, both he and Dianne have surpassed pretty much all expectations, which is as much a credit to his mindset, good humour and commitment as it is to Dianne, who has shown just how good a pro dancer she has been by adapting her teaching to accommodate for what he lacks whilst playing to his strengths.

Again, as with Sarah and Vito, they are in the position of having never once been in the dance off but are yet to score a perfect 40. But they have also shown great versatility, from their more comedic routines such as their Wayne's World inspired Jive on Movie Week to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", to their breathtakingly moving Viennese Waltz on last Saturday's semi final to Metallica's "Nothing Else". It is entirely possible therefore, at current odds of 1/9, that they could pull one last ace out of the bag and lift the glitterball this weekend.

• Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec

What we said: "Historically, those with a prior dance background are either in it until the end or fall at the last few hurdles before the final, and often have a trickier time winning over the audience voting at home..."

This is a scenario we called pretty much there and then. Tasha and long running show fan favourite Aljaž have certainly been the judges' favourites, consistently picking up 10s week after week, and coming top of the leaderboard on four occasions, including a 39 in Blackpool Week with their excellent Paso Doble to Nathan Lanier's "Torn". Interestingly however, it's not been until now, at the business end of the competition, that said universal praise has caught up with and collided with overall public backing, as for all their technical brilliance, they have now been in the dance off for two weeks on the trot.

There's no getting away from the fact that the average Strictly viewer watching at home likes to see someone with comparatively little experience grow and become a dancer of a high standard over someone who has a dance background of sorts. Then again, some might put their position down to the standard being too close to call. But when you consider that only once in the show's history has the glitterball trophy been lifted by a couple who were in a dance off twice (which was BBC Breakfast sports reporter Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton in 2016, fact fans), and also their current odds of 33/1, it'd be an exception rather than a rule being followed if they did walk off the dancefloor victorious.

Who do you think's going to be adding themselves to the list of Strictly winners this weekend? Let us know your thoughts on our social media channels. If you fancy tripping the light fantastic yourself, you can also explore our dazzling selection of All Singing All Dancing experience gifts, which includes our Learn to Lindy Hop lessons and a visit to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom itself with a fab-u-lous Afternoon Tea included!