Strictly Come Dancing ‘real winner’ revealed as Tasha Ghouri set to make millions with huge TV deals

Strictly Come Dancing star Tasha Ghouri is said to be the ‘real winner’ of this year’s series as she is set to make millions from major new TV deals.

The grand final of Strictly was on Saturday night when blind comedian Chris McCausland and partner Dianne Buswell lifted the Glitterball trophy after competing against Tasha, JB Gill and Sarah Hadland.

However, it looks like former Love Island star Tasha is the ‘real winner’ when she’s not on the dance floor, as she’s set to rake in huge six-figure sums from lucrative brand deals and reality TV appearances shows.

According to PR expert Kayley Cornelius, Tasha, who has 1 million Instagram followers, is likely to be ‘inundated with media offers’ after already releasing her own book Hits Different.

Kayley told me The Daily Star: ‘Tasha could be the real winner of Strictly, thanks to her incredible marketability and ability to connect with a wide range of audiences. Her content, which focuses on lifestyle, beauty and fashion, makes her especially attractive to brands in those sectors – some of the largest publishers in online advertising.

‘Appearing on Strictly Come Dancing is always a major PR move for any celebrity, but Tasha Ghouri seems poised to benefit from it more than most. Since announcing her participation, her Instagram engagement has skyrocketed, nearly doubling her average interactions compared to before.

“With her large following and high engagement, brands are likely to pay top prices to work with her. Tasha could easily earn a five-figure sum per sponsored post, and long-term partnerships could push her earnings to six figures – or even higher if she becomes the face of a brand.”

Kayley has predicted that Tasha will host her own dating show, aimed at individuals who use sign language, and is likely to appear on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity.

Meanwhile, winner Chris is set to go on his stand-up tour next year, but he could also land some big deals with Netflix or Amazon Prime.

It comes after Strictly Come Dancing was hit with another ‘fix’ row as Chris was crowned the winner of this year’s series.

Chris and his professional partner Dianne Buswell were crowned 2024 champions after the comedian made history as the show’s first-ever blind contestant and winner.

The highest-scoring final ever saw all the couples perform three dances each for the judges before presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced Chris as the winner of the coveted Glitterball trophy.

Despite several fans saying Chris was a ‘worthy’ winner, others said Tasha was ‘technically’ a better dancer and should have one.

And during the show, judge Anton Du Beke was very impressed with Love Island star Tasha, 26, even declaring him the ‘best dancer ever’ to appear on the show.

Fans agreed: ‘Don’t doubt how incredible Chris was, but think he was judged differently than the other competitors – in my opinion Tasha was robbed’

“Tasha should have won, in the end it’s all about dancing.”

“Tasha should have won, she was the best dancer of them all, even Anton said that.”

‘Such a shame that people vote for their favorite celebrity and not for the best dancer. From day one it was clear who would win, simply based on who they are, not how they dance.”

“Chris was great, but Tasha was technically better.”

‘Was there any point in watching #Strictly final? I mean, it was a guarantee that Chris would win the glitterball regardless of anyone being better on the night, but he kind of feels bad for the rest of the celebrities for even trying.”

‘Chris may have achieved a lot, but he wasn’t the best dancer’

‘Chris is the weakest of the four finalists. But he is the most deserving winner.’

‘Tasha and Sarah should have won, they were much tighter on the dance floor. But Chris is still a worthy winner.”

After Chris won, he burst into tears as he was hugged by his fellow celebrities before triumphantly throwing Dianne over his shoulder as the crowd went wild.

When asked by Tess and Claudia how the moment felt, Chris said: ‘It’s amazing, I don’t know what to say. I honestly thought I was going to date for the first week or two and I know no one went out the first week, but I still thought I could do it.

‘We just endured and endured and [Dianne] has gotten so much out of me and she deserves that [the trophy] so much,” as he then gushed over her “positivity” and “faith.”

He then joked, “Unless she changes her number, she’s stuck with me.” This is for [Dianne] and everyone out there, it just goes to show that with the opportunity and support, anything is possible!’.

Chris achieved his first perfect score of 40 points for a waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers, which was his final dance of the series and left the judges and viewers in tears.

His second routine was a mash-up of dance styles to New Radicals’ You Get What You Give and he recreated his viral ‘blackout’ moment for the first dance.

Chris and Dianne also danced to their own tune – Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon.