Ball vroom

After Darren Gough winning the title last year, another cricketer, Mark Ramprakash, dances in tomorrow's finals on BBC1. He and his professional partner, Karen Hardy, face another sportsman - rugby star Matt Dawson and his partner Lilia Kopylova after 12 weeks of ballroom and Latin dancing.

This fourth series has proved the most competitive with the celebrities proving the best on their feet so far. The show itself has led The X Factor over on ITV1 a merry dance in the ratings. The two have been neck and neck, although the public vote in bigger numbers for the ITV talent show.

Strictly Come Dancing is one of the biggest success stories on TV of recent years. The idea of combining old-fashioned dancing and new-style celebrity competition was an inspired one.

The format has been sold around the world. In the US, it's Dancing With The Stars and features British judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. At one point this autumn they were flying back and forth across the Atlantic doing both the BBC and the US shows. ITV had a big hit with a variation on the format, Dancing On Ice.

Thankfully, the Strictly makers didn't stick to the original title Pro-Celebrity Come Dancing. But they did devise a voting system giving equal weight to the judges and the voting public.

Even couples that come top with the judges haven't been guaranteed a place in the following week's competition. Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton knows this only too well. For several weeks, she and partner Darren Bennett were voted top of the leader board by the judges, only to end up in the bottom two once the phone votes had been counted.

This fourth series has not been without incident. Jimmy Tarbuck had to drop out after one programme because of a health scare. Professional dancer Brendan Cole, who relishes his bad boy title, argued with the judges and stormed off after they criticised him for putting illegal lifts into routines. Goodman calling him a "prawnhead" remains one of the highlights of the series.

There have been tears and tantrums, and the unpredictable public vote means favourites - and good dancers - have been knocked out of the competition before they should have been.

Both sporting finalists entered the competition with little hope of progressing far, let alone winning.

England and Wasps player Dawson's previous dancing experience was limited to "drunken boogies on a Saturday night", he said. "I don't have a burning desire to be a dancer, but the idea of doing something I've never done before in front of a huge live audience is such an adrenalin rush. And it'll give the friends and family something to have a giggle about."

Now, after a session with an acting coach to help him let himself go on the dance floor, he's improved immeasurably and actually looks as if he's enjoying himself.

Ramprakash has overcome shyness at shaking his hips in public to win over female viewers. Even judge Arlene Phillips confesses to hot flushes at seeing him dance.

The England, Middlesex and Surrey player has reached an age - 38 - where he wants to diversify away from cricket but initially said no when asked to put on his dancing shoes because it's so unlike anything he's done before. "I like nice normal basic sports like football and golf," he said.

"But then you look at Darren Gough, and you realise that you might be up to the challenge. Darren made it legit, he made me realise that you could step out of your comfort zone and have fun and see what you could do."

Of their partners, Dawson's other half Lilia Kopylova (or cop a load of what she's not wearing when you see her tiny costumes) already has a win under her sequinned belt after dancing Gough to victory.

Her real life partner, on and off the dance floor, is Darren Bennett, who won Strictly Come Dancing with Jill Halfpenny. But he and Emma Bunton were knocked out in the semi-finals last week.

Ramprakash's partner, former Latin world champion Karen Hardy, came out of retirement last year after six years away from competitive dancing to join the Strictly professionals. She survived to show seven, dancing with Breakfast Time presenter Bill Turnbull.

This time she's favourite to be holding the Strictly Come Dancing trophy with Ramprakash come the end of the competition.

Strictly Come Dancing - The Final: tonight, BBC1, 5.40pm; repeated Christmas Eve, BBC2, 8.30pm.

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Party: Christmas Day, BBC1, 8pm.

Strictly Come Dancing: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Guide is published by BBC Books, £14.99.