Olly Murs's protege Blessing Chitapa was crowned as the winner of The Voice UK's ninth series on Saturday night. The talented singer's victory saw winning coach Olly, 36, secure a double win after his act Molly Hocking was crowned as champion in 2019. Blessing, 18, walked off with the coveted prize as well as a recording contract with Universal's label UMOD after the grand finale rounded up this year's series, while Olly will have to strip off after he promised fans he would dance naked if she won. Congratulations! Olly Murs's protege Blessing Chitapa was crowned as the winner of The Voice UK's ninth series on Saturday night Olly had promised to dance fully naked with only a swinging coin covering his modesty if his act won The Voice final. And the talented country star was indeed victorious against her fellow finalists Brooke Scullion, Gevanni Hutton and Jonny Brooks. She bagged the coveted title after her stunning performance of Marisha Wallace's Before I Go and a duet with Olly, which saw the duo belt out James Bay's Hold Back The River.
This year's judging line-up featured Olly alongside singer Meghan Trainor, as well as the show's judging mainstays, music legend Tom Jones and Black Eyed Peas front man The ITV series, which was halted earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, came to a close in front of a virtual audience, who were beamed into the studio from their homes. Sing off: Blessing sung her winner's single Angels by Robbie Williams in the final two, alongside Tom Jones's act Jonny Brooks, who belted out Torn by Natalie Imbruglia Talent: Finalist Brooke Scullion, who was on Team Meghan, gave a stunning performance of Stevie Nicks' Edge of Seventeen in the final Impressive: 's act Gevanni Hutton also made it to the final and sung his heart out with Carole King's You've Got A Friend Blessing, who is from Dudley, was extremely tearful on stage after it was revealed that the public had voted for her as this year's victor. Speaking after her win, she said: 'I've never worked so hard to stop tears from falling as I am right now.
'When we heard the noise from the floor below, a few of us rushed to the scene, ' said the 38-year-old. Darryn Frost, 38, above, is the hero who fought Usman Khan with a narwhal tusk as the London Bridge terrorist stabbed people 'I took a narwhal tusk from the wall and used it to defend myself and others from the attacker. Another man was holding the attacker at bay with a wooden chair. 'I ran down the stairs, stood next to the man with the chair, and the two of us confronted the attacker. ' He added: 'He had knives in both hands and, upon seeing me with the narwhal tusk, pointed at his midriff he turned and spoke to me, then indicated he had an explosive device around his waist. 'At this point, the man next to me threw his chair at the attacker, who then started running towards him with knives raised above his head. ' Frost passed the tusk to his unarmed comrade before racing back upstairs to find another to use. When he returned, he found the first tusk 'shattered across the floor' and saw people fleeing the building.
Three others were injured during the incident. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the mentor recalled how he met Khan twice a week for two-hour sessions between December 2018 and March this year - and that during one meeting, he noticed a sudden and aggressive mood swing. He said: 'During the meeting, he went from being measured and calm to suddenly being enraged about something he claimed the probation services weren't allowing him to do. ' Khan had supposedly become frustrated over the licence conditions that had been imposed on him, which included an electronic monitoring tag, curfew and supervised internet access. The mentor added that Khan then very swiftly 'self-corrected' his behaviour and calmed down, leading the former Scotland Yard officer to believe he had a 'suspiciously rehearsed' persona. Despite raising his concerns over Khan's behaviour and that he still held extremist views, the mentor said no action by the Home Office or probation service was taken. 'He should not have been released from prison, ' the officer added.
'What the hell happened between March and November, and how the hell has nobody seen the warning signs? ' In response, the Home Office said: 'All DDP mentors have an obligation to raise any concerns they the relevant authorities who can then make an assessment about the risk posed and take action accordingly. ' Khan's victims, Jack Merritt, 25 and Saskia Jones, 23, were celebrated by family and friends at two separate church services this week The mentor's comments come just days after Khan's victims, Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, were celebrated by family and friends at two separate church services. Rock star Nick Cave performed Into My Arms at the funeral service for Mr Merritt in Cambridge after the 25-year-old's friends carried his wicker casket to the Smiths' song This Charming Man. The service for Miss Jones, 23, took place at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, where William Shakespeare is buried. Mr Merritt's girlfriend Leanne O'Brien led the tributes to the Cambridge graduate at the service at St Mary's Church, telling a congregation of hundreds: 'He made me feel it was possible to achieve anything and everything.
But it is not the first time that he has stripped off after a victory, as he did the same when his act Molly Hocking won last year's final and sat on the spinning chair of losing coach Sir Tom Jones completely naked. Speaking about his confidence in Blessing's success before the final, he said: 'Blessing is only 18 and she's got phenomenal talent. I'm feeling really confident. ' Blessing's brand new single Angels is available to download now. Series 10 of The Voice UK returns in January 2021. This year's judging line-up features Olly alongside singer Meghan Trainor, as well as the show's judging mainstays, music legend Tom Jones and Black Eyed Peas front man
The singer was voted through to the final two alongside Tom Jones's act Jonny Brooks and sung her heart out with her winner's single Angels by Robbie Williams Earlier this week, Olly bravely promised to dance fully naked with only a swinging coin covering his modesty if Blessing won The Voice final. The singer made the pact with MailOnline ahead of Saturday's showpiece in the hope that it would tempt viewers to vote for the country singer. In March, he had highlighted a viral video of the 'coin dance challenge' on social media alongside the caption 'If I win The Voice 2020' - and he intends to keep his word. In an exclusive chat with MailOnline before the final, Olly said: 'I have got something planned if i win. It will be my celebration dance. Shocked: After the show came to a close, Blessing reflected on her impressive win and described it as her 'biggest achievement yet' Nude: Olly previously bravely promised to dance fully naked with only a swinging coin covering his modesty if Blessing won The Voice final 2020 'I said earlier this year on my Instagram when I posted that video if I win The Voice 2020 this is what I'm going to do. '
I'm so happy and I'm so shocked. I don't want to cry on TV but mum I've made it! 'Thank you to everyone that has voted for me. Thank you to the church for backing me all the time. It's just been amazing. Jonny you've been amazing, all the finalists you've been amazing. It's been the best experience ever and I've enjoyed every minute. Olly, thank you. ' Promise: Her victory came after Olly had promised to dance fully naked with only a swinging coin covering his modesty if his act won The Voice final After the grand finale came to a close, Blessing reflected on her win and described it as her 'biggest achievement yet' as she expressed optimistic hope for her career. She continued: 'Winning The Voice UK 2020 is my biggest achievement yet. I am so proud of how far I have come and I'm so intrigued to see what the future holds for me! 'I'm hoping my new single Angels can bless and inspire people to think about a certain someone in their life who has always been there for them. ' Emotional: Blessing, who is from Dudley, was extremely tearful on stage after it was revealed that the public had voted for her as this year's The Voice UK winner Wow!