Strictly Inverness winners named at dance contest in aid of Highland Hospice and Inverness Ice Centre
Michaela Newlands and Gavin Ordish-Smith have been crowned Strictly Inverness champions.
The duo had perfect scores for their Argentine tango and salsa at Saturday night’s final.
Michaela (34), from Alness, and Gavin (32), of Conon Bridge, had won Friday night’s semi-final to reach the last eight.
• Hear from Gavin and Michaela on our Strictly podcast
In a highly competitive contest at Inverness Ice Centre, they finished just ahead of Jane Fuller and Andrew Simpkins - who were awarded perfect scores for their final dances - while Annis Nordvik and Duncan Macgregor were third.
Hundreds of people packed into the ice centre to cheer on the novice dancers at the annual event which raises money for the venue, alongside Highland Hospice.
More than £150,000 was generated by all the couples involved in this year’s event, with eight pairs advancing from the semi-finals to the final - where seven separate dances were awarded perfect marks.
Among the judging panel was celebrity guest - and a professional dancer on BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing - Amy Dowden who didn’t give any couples less than a nine and even indicated she would choose to dance with Andrew Simpkins if he was ever on the popular series.
Andrew and dance partner Jane also collected the most entertaining prize, while the highest fundraisers accolade went to Becky Oman and Michael Mackenzie.
