"Viva! Viva! A dude for the tango president!"

With these words judge Salome Sechele applauded the local fifth season-winner of 'Strictly Come Dancing' on SABC 2 last night.

Rob Van Vuuren was the judges? and viewing public?s favourite from the outset. Rob and dance partner Mary Martin were crowned the King and Queen of the Ballroom dance floor, during what must have been the series? most emotional episode. This was the pair that succeeded in mastering every style to near perfection and last night even had the judges holding back tears and saluting them with a standing ovation.

The three final couples — Van Vuuren and Martin, Cindy Nell and Jonathan Broadway, and Tessa van Duuren and Grant Esterhuizen — were first required to perform their most dazzling Ballroom number, then the first couple would be eliminated (Nell and Broadway) and thereafter the remaining two had to perform a Latin routine.

Van Vuuren and Van Duuren also had to bring the first half of the proceedings to an end with a freestyle dance, during which they could dance to their hearts? content — using any style they preferred.

When the judges? scores and viewer votes were tallied, both agreed that Van Vuuren was the star of the series. Viewers? votes once again accounted for 50 percent of the final scores.

The judges? scores were as follows:

Rob van Vuuren & Mary Martin
First Dance: 40, Second Dance: 39, Third Dance: 40 (Total: 119/120)

Tessa van Duuren & Grant Esterhuizen
First Dance: 39, Second Dance: 36, Third Dance: 37 (Total: 112/120)

Cindy Nell & Jonathan Broadway
First Dance: 34/40 (prior to them being eliminated)

Van Vuuren and Martin started the night with a perfectly scored Tango, a routine that gave head judge Lillian Phororo ?goose bumps? and showed Tyrone Watkins ?exactly what I?m looking for in this competition?. Their second offering, a Jive, brought the house down and had both judges and studio audience applauding in a standing ovation. Their freestyle left Sechele ?gob smacked? and Watkins, holding back the tears, thanked them for what they did for Ballroom in the broader sense.

Van Duuren, elegant as ever in a turquoise ball gown, managed a near perfect 39 for her Waltz with Esterhuizen. Watkins did, however, require a bit more ?spice? for the next routine. And their Ramba to 'Ain?t no sunshine when it's gone' (the routine that got the first perfect 10 score of the series) delivered exactly that. There was consensus though, that the couple did suddenly, and understandably given her back injury, appear nervous. Their freestyle to a Michael Jackson medley was ?wicked? according to Phororo and Esterhuizen himself said that dancing to the Jacko was ?every coloured?s dream?. The bottom line came from Dave Campbell who said that this couple had set the standard for the series right form the start.

Nell and Broadway?s Quickstep was just short of good enough and saw them being eliminated from this final round after the Ballroom dances. Disappointingly they were out of time yet again, a flaw that had plagued them right through the series.

The cast of 'Rock a Tutu', currently on at the State Theatre in Pretoria , entertained with 'Blame it on the Boogie'. All nine eliminated contestants also made a last turn on the dance floor with a condensed version of their most memorable dances.

While viewers had only minutes left to cast their final votes, Mango Groove lead singer, the legendary Claire Johnston, also performed a medley of their top hits like 'Special Star'.