Strictly’s George Clarke breaks silence after final | UK News

George Clarke has damaged his silence after the Strictly Come Dancing final, summing up his feelings with just seven phrases following a dramatic night time in the ballroom. The 26-year-old content creator completed runner-up in the 2025 collection, narrowly lacking out on lifting the Glitterball as former England footballer Karen Carney and skilled companion Carlos Gu have been topped champions. While the celebrations performed out live on BBC One, George took to Instagram hours later to mirror on the second the competitors ended.

Sharing a photograph of himself on the dancefloor with companion Alexis Warr, George wrote: “The journey is done and that’s hard.” The short line set the tone for a longer, heartfelt message as he admitted the fact of ending second had taken time to sink in. He continued: “Last night was a lot to process but not because I didn’t walk away with a glitterball. The journey is done and that’s hard to come to terms with.”

George went on to thank those closest to him for serving to him through the extreme four-month expertise.

He added: “Firstly, I’d like to thank my family, my friends, my girlfriend, all my internet pals and anyone who showed any ounce of support.”

While viewers noticed confidence grow week by week on screen, George admitted the show pushed him far past his consolation zone. He explained: “Strictly has been a hell of an experience for me and I feel like I’ve learned so so much.”

That studying curve, he said, was down largely to Alexis, who joined the collection this 12 months as a new skilled. George revealed there have been moments early on when he doubted himself, writing: “After the first few weeks I really thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew.”

Praising his companion’s affect, he added: “Your pro is 99 per cent of your process and I’ve had the best and most formative four months of my life.”

He also credited Alexis with serving to him off the dancefloor, saying: “She helped me discover some belief in myself, something that has really helped shape me as a person not just as a dancer.”

George also mirrored on the final itself, where each celeb carried out three routines in one night time. He admitted the expertise would have appeared unimaginable just weeks earlier, writing: “I ended the night doing three wildly different dances, none of which I would’ve had a chance in hell at doing at the start of the competition.”

The YouTuber also paid tribute to hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman during their final collection fronting the show, describing them as “nothing short of incredible”.

Despite lacking out on the title, George made it clear the ending was not the end of his dancing journey. He closed his post by telling followers: “I hope that I can continue dancing in some capacity because in many ways I don’t feel like I’m done.”