They nicknamed her Cheeky Charlie during the competition, but tonight’s So You Think You Can Dance final, Charlie Bruce had emerged as a mature, competent dancer.

After a dislocated shoulder caused my personal favourite – Robbie White – to have to drop out, Charlie found herself in the final three with Lizzie Gough and Tommy Franzen. All the finalists danced in couples, either with other finalists or with former contestants who were brought back to fill the gap left by Robbie.

However, it was Charlie who received the most adulation from the judges, who praised her for her development throughout the competition. They noted that she’d grown both “as a dancer and a woman”. But it was head judge Nigel Lythgoe who might have tipped the scales in Charlie’s favour. Following her dance with ex-contestant Drew, Nigel threw impartiality to the wind and said:

If people say I’m being biased toward you tonight, I don’t give a damn. Because, you are without question the best dancer in this final tonight.

There was only a small murmur of disapproval on the web after this. After all, Lythgoe was stating a fact – Charlie’s dancing on the night of the final was impeccable. She fought with literally everything she had, put her heart and soul into her performances, and this was noted by the judges.

Tommy Franzen deserves credit for some very capable routines. As judge Sisco noted, “you haven’t once had a bad performance”. Sisco also praised Tommy as one of the most consistent dancers in the competition.

Our very own Lisa was in the SYTYCD studio tonight, and she called me a few minutes ago to give some background on Nigel’s comments to Charlie. He told Lisa that for the last few weeks he’d been championing Tommy to win, and envisaged that being the outcome before tonight’s show. However, he says after a couple of Charlie’s routines, it became clear that she had the edge.

She was particularly impressed with the judges, who she got to chat with after the show – Nigel, Arlene and Sisco were apparently very personable and candid about the show (and much more – Lisa tells me she grilled Nigel about those Simon Cowell wedding rumours!)

And just for those of you wondering what’s next for Charlie Bruce  – Nigel’s plans are to showcase her talents on the next American series of So You Think You Can Dance. He’ll be bringing Charlie on toward the finals to showcase her dancing. He told Lisa that he’s done this with an Australian winner in the past, and that Charlie’s ‘aggressive style’ will go over well in the States.

Catch our live coverage of the SYTYCD final!