Actress Zakeeya Patel and her dance partner Ryan Hammond were crowned the winners of Strictly Come Dancing 6 on Wednesday after a finale battle against celebs Lalla Hirayama and Thapelo Mokoena and their partners Grant Esterhuizen and Hayley Bennett.
Thapelo and Hayley were the first to be eliminated after the first round of viewer voting and Zakeeya and Ryan snatched the title from Lalla and Grant after scoring perfect 10's.
They also snatched each other. Yes-yes, the sparks between them on stage are as electric behind-the-scenes and they're
definitely hott for each other. In fact, they've got their first date planned. I caught up with them moments after their win and trust me when I tell you that Ryan's mad for Zak' as he calls her.
When I asked them why they think they won, Zak said it was because of hard work and Ryan said it was because of Zak and her personality. He said that he just wants to keep dancing and dancing with her. That's when I knew that it's the real thing for sure.
The pair told me that they've wanted to keep their relationship professional for the show and haven't pursued a romantic relationship but it's clear that it's going to be
on from now. Ryan's asked Zak on their first date - to his sister's wedding. Ryan's sister Hayley Hammond ... Damon Kalvari's poor partner - she's getting married soon and Zak and Ryan will be Zyan for it.
Very fun I thought - in the short time I spent chatting to them I decided that they're purrfect for each other - could picture them married.
Besides their date, what else are they getting up to next? Ryan's going to dance in a theatre show in Durban and Zak's starting filming on a new SABC1 show called End Game. It's a political thriller and Zak's playing a gym bunny. It starts filming today.