How Strictly winners have cashed in with lingerie deals, Britain’s Got Talent job and bizarre new career
STRICTLY’S final four will battle it out for the coveted glitterball trophy tonight.
Finalists Fleur East, Britain’s Got Talent star Molly Rainford, presenter Helen Skelton and Hamza Yassin will be hoping to dance their way to victory on the BBC show – with cameraman Hamza the favourite.
The winner is believed to receive around £100,000 – and judging by the track record of previous champions, they could be on track to make a lot more.
From lucrative brand deals to modelling gigs and presenting jobs, we reveal how previous winners cashed in on their Strictly success.
Rose Ayling-Ellis – £400k
EastEnders star Rose, 28, captured the nation’s hearts when she won the show last year alongside dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
Having quit the soap, she’s now focusing on “new challenges” – including raising awareness about the deaf community.
In August 2022 she worked with toy company Mattel to unveil the first deaf Barbie doll equipped with behind-the-ear hearing aids.
She’s reported to be worth around £400k, and is set to front a new hard-hitting BBC documentary.
It will focus on the challenges, discriminations and barriers the deaf community faces.
Bill Bailey – £5.6m
From dancing to singing and stand-up, it seems like there’s nothing comedian Bill Bailey can’t turn his hand to.
After admitting he thought he’d be the programme’s 2020 “joke act”, Bill wowed judges and viewers alike with his show-stopping performances and natural talent.
The 57-year-old won the show with dance partner Oti Mabuse, and has an estimated fortune of around £5.6m.
After the show he returned to touring, hosted Have I Got News For You, appeared on Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer, and bagged a part in last year’s Worzel Gummidge reboot.
As well as his hugely successful acting and comedy career, in 2020 he also held nearly £1million in three different firms, including a property business called Kampung Pala Properties.
He’s even admitted he hopes to one day represent the UK at Eurovision.
Kelvin Fletcher – £3.6m
Since winning series 17 in 2019, actor Kelvin Fletcher has carved out a rather unique career for himself after fox-trotting his way into the Strictly hall of fame.
Previously best known for playing Andy Sugden on ITV soap Emmerdale for 20 years, Kelvin has now turned his hand to farming, buying a property in the Peak District.
The venture is the focus of a six-part BBC documentary, Kelvin Fletcher’s Big Farming Adventure, in which he stars alongside his wife Liz.
In May this year, the couple welcomed twin boys – brothers to their daughter Marnie, five, and son Milo, three.
Additionally, Kelvin is a motor racing driver and has competed in the British GT Championships.
Stacey Dooley – £1m
Journalist Stacey waltzed her way into the Strictly record books, winning series 16 with dance partner – and now boyfriend – Kevin Clifton in 2018.
Afterwards the documentary maker, 35, who is currently pregnant with her first child, signed a £250K year-long deal with the BBC, and landed a lucrative ad campaign fronting hair brand Clairol.
Though the sponsorship deal, in which she dances in a blue leotard swishing her signature red locks, reportedly got her axed as host of BBC show Glow Up, a contest for amateur make-up artists.
As well as continuing to make documentaries, Stacey has also fronted DNA Family Secrets and This Is My House, appeared on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and was Prawn Cocktail on the latest series of The Masked Dancer.
She’s estimated to be worth around £1million.
Joe McFadden – unknown
Former Holby City actor Joe won series 15 in 2017 with partner Katya Jones, in a final dubbed one of the “best ever“.
Having left the hospital drama mid-series, he revealed after his victory that he was unemployed and single.
The following year he made an appearance on Sport Relief and was busy auditioning for new roles.
At first Joe, 47, struggled to land the grittier theatre work he craved, but he’s now touring in an Agatha Christie murder mystery.
In 2019 he performed in a touring production of the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
It’s not known what his net worth is.
Ore Oduba – £2.2m
Former BBC Breakfast presenter Ore, 37, won the 14th series of the dance show with Joanne Clifton.
It appeared to whet his appetite for reality TV, as he went on to appear on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Cube.
The show also kickstarted his musical theatre career, as Ore landed roles in Grease in 2019 and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
He also starred alongside Jason Manford in Kander and Ebb’s musical comedy Curtains, and played news anchor Akintola in the BBC One drama Noughts + Crosses.
His wealth is estimated at around £2.2million.
Jay McGuiness – £5.5m
Jay was the hot favourite from the start during the 2015 series of Strictly, which he won with partner Aliona Vilani.
The Wanted singer, 32, has gone on to enjoy a successful West End career, recently starring in Sleepless: A Musical Romance alongside ex-Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh.
It was the second production that the two appeared in together – after they wowed producers with their chemistry when they both starred in Big: The Musical in 2019.
Worth an estimated £5.5m, Jay reunited with The Wanted to perform a charity concert for Tom Parker – who passed away from a brain tumour earlier this year.
Abbey Clancy – £3.4m
Liverpudlian Abbey, who rose to prominence when she finished second in Britain’s Next Top Model in 2006, won Strictly with partner Aljaz Skorjanec in 2013.
It made the wife of Peter Crouch a household name, and lucrative endorsement deals and modelling contracts came rolling in.
The stunner, 36, recently fronted US undies brand Victoria’s Secret‘s Christmas campaign.
From 2015 she presented Britain’s Next Top Model, and she’s also guest-presented on This Morning.
Louis Smith – £850K
Hot on the heels of his medal-winning performance at the London 2012 Olympics, gymnast Louis bagged the glitterball with Flavia Cacace.
The following year he was awarded an MBE, and went on to win gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.
After retiring from gymnastics in 2018, having come back from Rio 2016 with a silver medal, Louis featured in a number of different reality shows.
He’s appeared on The Jump, Celebrity Hunted, a live dance show called Rip It Up, and won The Masked Dancer as Carwash in 2021.
Louis, 33, is estimated to be worth around £850K.
Harry Judd – £1.6m
McFly drummer Harry won Strictly in 2011 with professional dancer Aliona Vilani, and won a whole new legion of fans.
More TV opportunities followed; he appeared on Celebrity Juice in 2012 and even went on a celebrity version of The Chase in 2013.
His popularity on Strictly saw him return for the 2015 Christmas special, where he was partnered with Joanne Clifton.
In 2013 McFly joined forces with Busted to become McBusted, and played a 34-date sell-out tour.
Harry, 36, has an estimated worth of £1.6m.
Kara Tointon – £820K
Kara‘s career has gone from strength to strength since she won Strictly series eight in 2010 with dance partner Artem Chigvintsev – she even admitted it changed her life.
Having previously starred in EastEnders, she went on to land roles in ITV drama Mr Selfridge, and has a string of theatre credits to her name including Absent Friends and Relatively Speaking.
Kara, 39, also played Maria in ITV’s The Sound of Music Live and won plaudits for her singing skills.
Her net worth is estimated to be around £820K.
Alesha Dixon – £3.2m
Arguably one of Strictly’s most successful alumni, after winning series five back in 2007, Alesha Dixon even went on to judge on the show from 2009 to 2011.
She has also fronted many TV shows since, including Alesha’s Street Dance Stars (2010), Your Face Sounds Familiar (2013), Text Santa (2014–2015), Dance Dance Dance (2017) and The Greatest Dancer.
She rose to fame as one third of R&B and garage girl group Mis-Teeq, has released a series of children’s books and is a Britain’s Got Talent judge – all of which has earned her a reported net worth of around £3.2million.