Celia Pacquola has been crowned the winner of Dancing With The Stars.
Celia and her dance partner Jarryd Byrne took home the coveted mirrorball trophy, and $50,000 for Celia’s chosen charity, Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre, during a nail-biting finale on Sunday night.
The DWTS finale episode was brought forward a week – it was originally scheduled to be held next Sunday – after Channel Ten was forced to adjust its reality TV programming in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
But that didn’t seem to deter the show’s final four competitors – Christian Wilkins, Claudia Karvan, Celia Pacquola and Ed Kavalee – who bust out some of their best moves in order to impress the judges.
Yet Celia was the clear star of the show, wowing the judges with her impressive efforts, edging out Christian who nabbed second place.
Meanwhile, Claudia just missed out in third place and while Ed did well to make it to the grand finale, he came up short in fourth.
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Celia (pictured) impressed the judges and viewers and her efforts scored her the mirrorball trophy.
(Image: Network Ten)
The final four contestants – Christian Wilkins, Claudia Karvan, Celia Pacquola and Ed Kavalee – battled it out for the top spot on Sunday night.
(Image: Channel 10)Dancing With The Stars has had to make a few adjustments this season to ensure the safety of its cast and crew amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The live studio audience was scrapped, and following the news that Channel Nine’s entertainment guru Richard Wilkins tested positive to COVID-19, Richard’s son Christian was stuck in lockdown, self-isolating with his dance partner Lily in a Melbourne hotel room.
While both Christian and Lily tested negative for the COVID-19 virus and did not show any symptoms, as a precaution, during last Sunday night’s episode, the pair performed their routine via a video link from their hotel rooftop.
Channel 10 announced the extraordinary TV first in a statement last week.
“Christian and Lily will appear on Dancing With The Stars remotely during this Sunday’s show, returning to the dance floor the following Sunday,” a Ten spokesperson said at the time.
“As a precaution, all Dancing With The Stars cast and crew will continue to self-monitor for symptoms until the end of Christian’s self-isolation period.”
Christian Wilkins and his dance partner Lily performed their routine on the rooftop of the hotel where they were self-isolating.
(Image: Instagram)Aussie singer Dami Im, who was eliminated from the competition the week before the finale, revealed some of the big changes and new regulations Channel 10 put in place to ensure both the cast and crew were adequately protected.
“All the studio spaces have to be readjusted,” she told Now To Love last week.
“With the makeup artists, they reduced the number of makeup people, so we can fit into one room without being squished together wearing masks.”
Ten also altered its standard production operations to ensure hospital-grade hygiene practices were implemented.
“They had to be really careful with the makeup, and all the powders. It was like being in a doctors office. You couldn’t be in the room if someone was in the room,” Dami said.
“There were so many different measures taken to ensure we could still go on with the show.”
WATCH BELOW: Bindi Irwin cries during her DWTS performance dedicated to her late father Steve Irwin. Story continues after video.
But despite so many constant challenges, host Amanda Keller says she believes this season of DWTS has delivered the goods, both on and off the dance floor.
“It’s been amazing, we’ve seen some incredible dancers and routines,” Amanda told TV WEEK last Wednesday.
“I think we all need a bit of an escape right now. You can’t pick up your phone or read the news without impending horror closing in.
“It’s a terrifying time, and we’re not pretending that’s not happening, but we are hopefully offering a little bit of joy.”
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