BBC Strictly fans 'lose it' as JB Gill finally recreates hilarious viral moment
JLS star JB Gill left Strictly Come Dancing fans in stitches as he re-created his viral "Merry Christmas" meme after his final dance with his professional partner, Lauren Oakley. The pair danced a flawless Samba for their final dance of the series, scoring the perfect 40 from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas.
When heading back to the Clauditorium for one last time, the singer was asked by host Claudia Winkleman what it would mean for him to walk away with the Glitterball Trophy, to which the 38-year-old responded: "To lift that glitterball trophy would literally be the perfect MERRY CHRISTMAS," referencing his hilarious meme dating all the way back to the X-Factor days.
JB rose to fame in 2008 when he and his bandmates Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, and Oritse Williams auditioned for the X-Factor. The band came runners-up, losing out on the title to Alexandra Burke. However, JB went on to have a highly successful career with five UK number-one singles.
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JB's life changed forever after the X-Factor, but there's one moment from 2008 that'll never leave him. During Christmas week during the X-Factor 2008 live shows, JLS took to the stage in matching white outfits to perform a rendition of Wham!s Last Christmas. In the middle, JB exclaimed, "Merry Christmas!" Fans haven't let him live it down since.
The meme goes viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, every Christmas, and JB couldn't help but join in on the joke, giving fans a live rendition during the Strictly final. Fans were left in hysterics over the star's outburst, as one tweeted: "I’m HOWLING at JB recreating his merry Christmas meme!"
"JB bringing back the randomly placed 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' the meme just went full circle 16 years on, incredible #Strictly" wrote a second, while a third laughed: "AHH JB DOING THE MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"
JB and Lauren kicked off the 2024 final with a perfect score and were also told that their receiving 40 points was the 100th perfect 10 score given by judge Craig Revel Horwood. They recreated their quarter-final Viennese waltz to Let’s Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins as their judges' pick for their first dance, leaving the judges and audiences in awe.
“I know you’ve got three dances tonight; I would like to see that three times,” Anton said, as Motsi exclaimed: “That’s how you start a Strictly final."
It's not been the easiest ride for the JLS star, who had to switch partners halfway through after his partner Amy Dowden had to withdraw in early November due to injury.
