Hollins wins Strictly final

More than 11m tuned in to see the surprise result of the BBC...

10:59 21 December 2009

More than 11m people tuned in on Saturday night to watch the Strictly Come Dancing final, the BBC has said.

Sports presenter Chris Hollins became this year's surprise winner of Strictly COme Dancing, beating Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle in the public vote.

The BBC presenter had performed four dances with his professional partner, Ola Jordan, before going on to pay tribute to her in his acceptance speech: "Little Ola-chops, thank you so much for believing in me all the way along."

Both couples had impressed the judges with their performances, but Hollins made a greater impression after he ended one dance by standing on the judges' table. Whittle, meanwhile, struggled with an inguinal hernia.

More than 11m watched the Saturday night final, equating to 47% of the audience share, slightly down from last year's 49.6% in 2008.

Hollins will not be taking up dancing professionally, but he will appear on the Strictly Come Dancing live tour in 2010.

Meanwhile, Whittle has expressed his plans to quit the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks next year to try to make his name in Hollywood as a film star.