How ALL four finalists have a background in dance or musical theatre

The 2017 Strictly Come Dancing final will air this weekend.

After months of grueling training sessions, rumours of romances and rifts, and some highly controversial evictions, Strictly Come Dancing 2017 will take its last bow at the weekend.

And while the results to date may have raised eyebrows among viewers, the final line-up is perhaps no surprise - given that all four celebrities still in the running have had already had some form of professional dance or musical theatre training before signing up for Strictly. 

Alexandra Burke is a pop star who has previously been directed by Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, Debbie McGee had her own dance school, and Gemma Atkinson and Joe McFadden have both worked in musical threatre - even recently axed contestant Mollie King did tricky choreography with her band-mates while a member of The Saturdays.

The backgrounds of some of the most successful contestants prompted some fans to cry 'fix' as the weeks rolled on. 

Read on for more detail on the finalists' respective paths to the ballroom...

  Alexandra Burke, 29, consistently topped the leaderboard and became the first celebrity of the season to score a 10 with her energetic jive to Proud Mary in week four.

But it's little wonder the Islington-born singer has had such success in the ballroom - thanks to the extensive training she has undergone both as a pop act and a West End star.

Alexandra had existing links to Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, who directed and choreographed her during her stint playing Deloris Van Cartier in the UK tour of the stage show Sister Act.

Fans were outraged when they found out, with some arguing that their history of collaborating 'devalues' the competition.

Debbie McGee, 59, known for being the wife and glamorous assistant of the late magician Paul Daniels, has defend herself against suggestions the odds were stacked in her favour on Strictly. 

She danced with the Iranian National Ballet in the 1970s and even established her own company, Ballet Imaginaire.

But the star rubbished claims that she was too experienced to compete on the show, arguing that ballet and ballroom demand entirely different skill sets.

She even claimed her dance training was a setback, pointing out: 'That training in a way is a disadvantage because the muscles were trained differently. I haven't done that for over 30 years.'