Sunday’s Dancing With The Stars Grand Finale on Seven was full of tears and triumph as Human Nature singer Phil Burton beat out Home and Away actor Emily Weir to take home the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy.
The six grand finalists: Christie Whelan Browne, Mary Coustas, Paulini, Virginia Gay, Emily Weir, and Phil Burton danced their hearts out with their own freestyle dance in the ultimate ballroom showdown.
Phil topped the leaderboard with 39 points for his Motown moves to Wilson Pickett’s Land of 1000 Dances, while Emily received the same score for her Spice Girls inspired Salsa.
After combing the judges scores with the audience vote, Christie, Mary, Paulini, and Virginia said goodbye; leaving Phil to be awarded the winning title and $20,000 for his chosen charity, NSW Police Legacy.
Phil said: “This show has just been so incredible for the last seven weeks. I’ve had the absolute time of my life. And, you know, it is a competition but it doesn’t feel like it when you are out here and you are with all these amazing people. It’s been an absolute joy to be a part of it.”
“I also want to thank my family who were here tonight, my beautiful wife and my kids. But the biggest thanks for me has to go to Ash. She’s brought out a side in me that I never even knew existed,” he continued.
The final leaderboard for the grand finale:
Phil Burton and Ash-Leigh Hunter – 39
Emily Weir and Lyu Masuda – 39
Virginia Gay and Ian Waite – 36
Christie Whelan Browne and Craig Monley – 36
Mary Coustas and Aric Yegudkin – 31
Paulini and Igor Ifliand – 30
Dancing With The Stars is produced by BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, from a format created by the BBC and distributed by BBC Studios.