After weeks of intense competition, the Strictly Come Dancing finalists are primed to take to the dance floor one last time.

Just three couples remain of the 15 at the start of the series, with celebrities Amber Davies, George Clarke and Karen Carney vying to get their hands on the glitterball trophy.

It's also the last time Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will present a Strictly final. The pair announced they would be stepping down at the end of the current series.

The grand final will be broadcast on Saturday from 19:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.

Amber Davies says she's earned her place in final

One of the main talking points leading into the final has been whether Amber Davies' performing background has given her an unfair advantage.

The Love Island star has faced a backlash online with people pointing out she's had roles in West End musicals Pretty Woman, 9 to 5: The Musical, and The Great Gatsby, as well as competing in the 16th series of Dancing on Ice.

This week, she told BBC News and other reporters at a Strictly press conference that she could "appreciate" where the comments are coming from.

"I have experience compared to these two," she said, gesturing at the other finalists. "I'm not shying away from that. However, I would say that the love actually does outshine the hate."

When asked whether she deserves to win, the actress, who is paired with Nikita Kuzmin, said: "I feel like I have worked just as hard as these guys going into the final, because I had to fight to get into the final."

The backlash is perhaps a symptom of a wider theme on Strictly, where over the years some viewers have appeared to form their own judgements on contestants, regardless of what the judges think or what the overall audience vote says.

Earlier this series Lewis Cope received criticism for having been a child actor in Billy Elliot, for example, and last year JB Gill came under fire for having danced before in the boyband JLS.

'I can't believe a footballer is in the final'

And it seems many viewers value an element of surprise or beating the odds, as with Strictly's first blind contestant Chris McCausland winning last year.

For Karen Carney, becoming the first footballer to reach the Strictly Come Dancing final feels "weird" but she's also "really, really proud".

"I can't believe a footballer is in the final," she said in the press conference.

The former Lioness, who is partnered with Carlos Gu, said she had struggled with her confidence in recent years, but added: "I always knew in my heart Strictly would be the thing that would fix me... It's by far the happiest I've ever been."

Crown for the social stars?

For social media star George Clarke, reaching this point in the contest is "mental".

"It's a completely different world to what I'm used to," he said.

Another online star, AngryGinge, was recently crowned king of the jungle in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! It opens up the possibility of two social media stars winning two of the biggest shows on television.

"I feel like it's a whole demographic that hasn't really been touched massively in mainstream TV," said Clarke, who is partnered with Alexis Warr.

Who is dancing to what this week?

The finalists will perform three routines: they will revisit a previous routine, perform a show dance and then take to the floor with their favourite dance from the series.

This is what they'll be dancing to:

Amber and Nikita

• Showdance to Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
• Judges' Pick - Paso Doble to Dream On by Aerosmith
• Favourite Dance - Jive to Proud Mary

George and Alexis

• Showdance to Human by The Killers
• Judges' Choice - Viennese Waltz to Somebody to Love by Queen
• Favourite Dance - Paso Doble to Game of Survival by Ruelle

Karen and Carlos

• Showdance to Inner Smile by Texas
• Judges' Pick - Argentine Tango to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Favourite Dance - Jive to One Way Or Another by Blondie

Other highlights from the show will include a group routine from the professional dancers and this year's finalists.

The cast of 2025 will return to the dance floor one last time for a group number, although BBC News understands that Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner will not join.

What time does the Strictly final start?

Strictly Come Dancing 2025's grand final is at 19:00 GMT this Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.

It will also be available to watch on the live page on the BBC News website.

The live page will also have plenty of build up ahead of the show - plus extra insight on the dances, the outfits, the judges' comments, and much more.

How can I vote for my favourites?

This year, Strictly has moved to online-only voting.

When the vote is open, shimmy over to this website to make your decision!

As with every final, all of us at home have the full power to decide the winner.

The judges will give their scores, but these will just be for guidance and don't get combined with the viewers' votes.

What happened last weekend?

Warning: The section below includes spoilers from last week's Strictly

Standards were incredibly high last week, as you would expect for a semi-final.

Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin kept up with their perfect score for a third consecutive week, while Karen Carney's Waltz had judge Anton Du Beke "a bit emotional" and George Clarke captivated the judges with his hip movement.

• Strictly stars in glitterball showdown to secure spot in final

In the end, Balvinder Sopal and Caillon left the competition, following a dance off on Sunday night against Davies and Kuzmin.

Tess and Claudia's last Strictly final

In October, we had the shock announcement by Daly and Winkleman that they would be stepping down at the end of this year's series.

The celebrity contestants later told me that the news took them by surprise too. "No one saw it coming," one said.

Daly has presented since the first series 21 years ago. Winkleman joined in 2014, having hosted Strictly's sister show It Takes Two since 2004.

This Saturday will be their last time presenting a Strictly final. Speaking on Strictly's sister show It Takes Two last week, the pair admitted they might feel "emotional" after the show.

Their last ever appearance on the show will be the Christmas special, which airs on 25 December.

There have been plenty of twists and turns in the show's 21st year.

But the show has also been embroiled in controversy.

In November, it emerged that an unnamed star from Strictly has been arrested on suspicion of rape. It comes after another man involved with the hit BBC dance show was also arrested on suspicion of rape in August.

It is understood that neither developments were related to the current series of Strictly.

It came after a difficult few years for the show, with a number of former celebrity contestants speaking up about their negative experiences on Strictly.

Last year, the corporation introduced new duty of care measures, including putting chaperones in rehearsals.

What was the last thing you asked an AI chatbot to do for you?

Maybe you asked it for an essay structure to help answer a tricky question, provide an insightful analysis of a chunky data set, or to check if your cover letter matches the job description.

Some experts worry that outsourcing these kinds of tasks means your brain is working less - and could even be harming your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published a study showing that people who used ChatGPT to write essays showed less activity in brain networks associated with cognitive processing while undertaking the exercise.

These people also couldn't quote from their essays as easily as those in the study who didn't use an AI chatbot.

The researchers said their study demonstrated "the pressing matter of exploring a possible decrease in learning skills".

All 54 participants were recruited from MIT and nearby universities. Their brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG), which involves electrodes being placed on the scalp.

Some of the prompts used by the participants included asking AI to summarise essay questions, track down sources as well as refine grammar and style.

It was also used to generate and articulate ideas - but some users felt AI wasn't very good at this.

'AI makes it too easy to find answers'

Separately, Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft, which operates Copilot, found people's problem-solving skills could diminish if they became too reliant on AI.

They surveyed 319 white-collar workers who used AI tools for their jobs at least once per week about how they apply critical thinking when using them.

They looked at 900 examples of tasks given to AI, ranging from analysing data for new insights to checking whether a piece of work satisfies particular rules.

The study found that higher confidence in the tool's ability to perform a task was related to "less critical thinking effort".

"While GenAI can improve worker efficiency, it can inhibit critical engagement with work and can potentially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving."

Schoolchildren in the UK were similarly surveyed for a study published in October by Oxford University Press (OUP).

It found six in 10 felt AI had negatively impacted their skills in relation to schoolwork.

So, with the massive explosion of AI use, are our cognitive skills at risk of decline?

Not necessarily, says Dr Alexandra Tomescu, a generative AI specialist at OUP who worked on the school survey.

"Our research tells us that nine in 10 students say AI has helped them develop at least one skill related to schoolwork - be it problem-solving, creativity or revision.

"But at the same time, about a quarter state that AI use made it too easy to do work for them… So [it's] quite a nuanced picture."

She adds that many pupils want more guidance on how to use AI.

ChatGPT, which has more than 800 million weekly active users according to boss Sam Altman, has published a set of 100 prompts for students designed to help them get the most out of the technology.

But Prof Wayne Holmes, who researches critical studies of artificial intelligence and education at University College London (UCL), says this isn't enough.

He wants much more academic research to be done about the effects of AI tools on learning before pupils and students are encouraged to use them.

He tells us: "Today there is no independent evidence at scale for the effectiveness of these tools in education, or for their safety, or even for the idea they have a positive impact."

Better results but worse learning?

Prof Holmes points to research about cognitive atrophy, where someone's abilities and skills become worse after using AI.

He says this has been a problem for radiologists who use AI tools to help them interpret X-rays before they diagnose patients.

A study by Harvard Medical School published last year found AI assistance did improve the performance of some clinicians but damaged others for reasons researchers don't fully understand.

The authors called for more work to be done on how humans interact with AI so we can figure out ways of using AI tools that "boost human performance rather than hurt it".

Prof Holmes fears that students, whether in school or university, could become too reliant on AI to do their work for them and not develop the fundamental skills an education provides.

A student's essay might receive better marks thanks to help from AI but the issue is whether they end up understanding less.

As Prof Holmes puts it: "Their outputs are better but actually their learning is worse."

Jayna Devani, who leads international education at OpenAI - the company that owns ChatGPT - and helped secure a deal with the University of Oxford, says the firm are "very aware of this debate right now".

She tells the BBC: "We definitely don't think students should be using ChatGPT to outsource work".

In her view, it's best used as a tutor rather than just a provider of answers.

The example she gives is of a student having a back and forth with ChatGPT using the study mode setting.

You enter the question you're having difficulty answering and the chatbot can break down its components and help you understand it.

The example she gives is of a student doing an assignment late at night about a topic they don't quite understand.

"[If] you have an upcoming presentation to give and… it's midnight, you're not going to email your [university] tutor and ask for help," she says.

"I think the potential is truly there for ChatGPT to accelerate learning when it's used in a targeted way."

But Prof Holmes insists that any student who uses AI tools should be aware of how its reasoning works and how the companies providing them handle data. He stresses that results should always be checked.

"It is not just the latest iteration of the calculator," he says, describing AI's far-reaching capabilities and implications.

"I never say to my students, you shouldn't use AI… But what I do try to say is look, we need to understand all these different things about it so that you can make informed decisions."

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

For anyone who has spent years renting, staring at the same landlord-approved magnolia walls and dreaming of one day adding some actual personality to their home, Pantone's 2026 Colour of the Year might feel like a personal attack.

This year, Pantone has chosen white as its colour of the year.

More specifically, Cloud Dancer - a white described as "lofty" and "billowy" which "serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection".

It is the first time white has been chosen as the colour of the year, and it has raised more than a few eyebrows.

According to Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a mindset" and reflects a collective desire to slow down, reset and find calm after years of visual overload.

But some critics have labelled the decision as "Pantonedeaf", arguing that elevating minimalist and pristine white spaces can feel far removed from the smaller, messier homes most people inhabit.

Others argue that positioning white as aspirational risks racial undertones, landing uncomfortably amid ongoing political and cultural conversations about race and representation.

Clinical or calm?

Designer Chris Beaumont says the backlash goes beyond aesthetics, arguing that white carries cultural undertones and is rarely a neutral choice.

"White is a signal," he says, shaped by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most notably Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to represent "wealth, order and distance from chaos".

He explains that white is "not about inspiration but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "austerity, moral minimalism and the idea that neutrality signifies virtue".

Beaumont points to the pandemic as a turning point in how people relate to their homes.

"Overnight they became our offices, sanctuaries and emotional anchors," he says, adding that against this backdrop, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "further visual emptiness feels rather tone-deaf".

Rather than offering calm, he believes white now risks amplifying "a sense of bleakness", particularly when paired with cool, clinical lighting.

'Hospital vibes'

Lara Clark, a Surrey based interior designer, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While it may suit highly minimal or architectural spaces, she says bright whites rarely create calm in real homes.

"What looks serene in a styled shoot can easily feel clinical at home," she explains.

"White can feel stark and unforgiving and you don't want your home to give hospital vibes."

She adds that "homes should spark joy and feel warm and lived-in, and this shade feels quite removed from that."

Beaumont hopes that homeowners will reject the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "full-scale dopamine décor", using colour to express personality.

Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Colour Institute, told the BBC that people "bring different feelings" to the meaning of the colour, but it was chosen as it "works seamlessly with everything around it, offering a refined neutrality that feels intentional and adaptable".

Since its launch in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has become a powerful industry signal.

Past choices have included the optimism of Living Coral, the calm confidence of Classic Blue, the vibrancy of Viva Magenta, and most recently softer, emotionally driven tones like Peach Fuzz.

These colours don't just live on trend forecasts - they show up in fashion collections, beauty launches, interiors, packaging and even technology, shaping how products are marketed and how consumers imagine the year ahead.

Victoria Robinson, a style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "beautiful choice" and while it may seem simple, "this particular shade feels soft and elegant rather than stark".

In contrast to those who say the colour is boring, Robinson sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and living areas where you want a serene, restful atmosphere".

"Even if you don't want to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with cushions, throws and curtains."

Interior designer James Mellan-Matulewicz says although he was surprised that Pantone's pick this year was "essentially the absence of colour", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "everyone likes it but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its merits, explaining that white can work particularly well as a backdrop for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in modern homes".

In fashion, white has long been a staple rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it presents a different challenge to designers more accustomed to bold shades.

Luxury stylist Oriona Robb says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more about intention", reflecting a shift towards refinement after years of trend overloads.

"White forces designers and wearers alike to focus on form, proportion and quality, there's really nowhere to hide," she explains.

But she adds that it also carries assumptions around body confidence, lifestyle and privilege, saying: "When white is treated as something only a narrow group of people can pull off, it becomes exclusionary."

She says industry is already aware of the uncomfortable undertones tied to celebrating white as an ideal, particularly amid ongoing conversations about representation and accessibility, and the real test will be whether "brands engage with that nuance honestly, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A cultural mood, not a trend

Stylist Katie Malik admits the choice initially surprised her, given Pantone's history of bold colours, but says it reflects a genuine shift and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury", burnout and a rejection of excess.

She says feedback from her clients has been largely positive, with many craving calmer, more restorative spaces.

"Many people are actively seeking tranquillity and serenity in their homes and aren't always ready to commit to more daring colours," she explains.

Whether white feels calming or sterile, Malik argues, depends on how it is used and far from being "Pantonedeaf", she sees it as one of Pantone's most usable picks.

Cloud Dancer is described as a blank canvas that allows "all colours to shine", a view Malik shares.

"A blank canvas isn't an empty space, it's a space filled with potential," she says.

Adding that its success "won't be in its universal adoption, but in how it anchors a larger conversation about what we want from our homes".

For those tempted to embrace Cloud Dancer in all its pristine glory, one thing may be essential: a very good stain remover, kept firmly within reach.