Strictly Come Dancing is facing yet another furious backlash after the winner of the 2025 Christmas Special was leaked online, days before the festive episode even airs — and fans say they are “not even surprised anymore.”
For more than a decade, Strictly has battled an embarrassing pattern: results from its pre-recorded episodes routinely slip out through forums, blogs and TikTok before the BBC has a chance to broadcast them. Despite repeated attempts to plug the leaks, a mysterious insider — dubbed “the Strictly mole” — continues to spill the results with astonishing accuracy every year.
This time, viewers are especially outraged because the Christmas Special marks Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s final ever show. What was meant to be an emotional farewell moment has now been overshadowed by the spoiler fiasco.
The festive line-up — Scarlett Moffatt, Gladiators star Fury, Brian McFadden, Nicholas Bailey and All Saints singer Melanie Blatt — had promised a heartwarming Christmas Day celebration. But for many, the magic has already been spoilt.
Fans flocked to X to vent their frustration. One viewer raged that they “won’t be watching Strictly again even at Christmas,” while another sighed: “Are we even surprised?” A third fan insisted they were “not going to waste time watching, in protest for Lewis and Katya,” echoing the ongoing outrage over Lewis Cope and Katya Jones’ shock elimination, widely called “the biggest robbery in Strictly history.”
Adding fuel to the fire is the continued rise of Dave Thorp’s StrictlySpoiler website, which leaks eliminations weekly and, at peak moments, attracts half a million visits. Speaking previously, Thorp explained that “if you’re pre-recording something the day before it goes out, it’s going to leak,” and suggested the BBC has accepted that reality.
Meanwhile, the remaining couples battle it out this weekend for a place in the 2025 grand final, with Amber Davies riding high on back-to-back perfect 40s. Viewers still reeling from Lewis’s exit argue passionately that he and Katya were “the most robbed couple in the history of this show.”
The dance floor drama continues — but for the Christmas Special, the surprise is already gone.
