Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev get THREE perfect 40s in Strictly final as Craig Revel Horwood says he ‘wishes he could dance like you’ and fans say she ‘out-dances’ Pasha

ASHLEY Roberts kicked off the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday night by getting full marks from the judges.

The former Pussycat Doll, 37, performed the Salsa to song (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

Singer Ashley took to the stage with her professional dance partner Pasha Kovalev and the panellists Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips and Darcey Bussell were so impressed that they gave her 40, which is the maximum a contestant can get.

After her performance, Bruno told Ashley: “The girl can dance and she was dancing. I thank you to bring to the dance floor all the love and passion that we have.”

Shirley said: “When you think something can’t get any better, you manage to take it to the next level. You are fearless, you have the most beautiful spirited heart, every move you take can be felt by every single person watching you, and thank you for opening our final the way you just opened it, it was brilliant.”

Darcey commented: “You wowed us with that iconic lift and I have to say it was shaky week three when you first [did the lift] but even harder to repeat it again in the final but you nailed it. I love your fearless determination, you are a joy.”

Craig added: “You managed to take all the notes on board and you made that dance live. It was amazing!”

Musician Ashley went on to score another 40 from the judges with her show dance.

She and Pasha took to the stage and danced to Keeping Your Head Up by Birdy.

After her dance, Ashley said: "We’ve had a roller coaster ride but we’re here. We just want it to be powerful,"; prompting host Claudia Winkleman to tell her: "And you were powerful!"

Performer Ashley then went on to score yet another 40 from the judges with her final dance, The Charleston.

The impressive performance prompted judge Craig to tell Ashley he wished he could dance like her, with Shirley begging her to never stop dancing.

And Ashley left viewers impressed, with many taking to Twitter to compliment the star.

One person tweeted: "It’s the @bbcstrictly #final. Please vote for the best dancer (@ImAshleyRoberts) and not who you fancy or can relate to. It’s a talent competition people; Ashley all the way!!"

Another wrote: "@ImAshleyRoberts Loved your dance with @PashaKovalev Voting for you both allll the way #strictlyfinal2018."

Someone else posted: "Sensational from Ashley and Pasha hands down the best dancer left and she totally deserves to win! Don't give me this 'oh she's a professional' c**p, she's learnt a whole new discipline in Ballroom and Latin!!! #strictly #strictly2018 #scd #StrictlyFinal."

And another fan commented: "She is probably the BEST contestant on Strictly ever!!!!! #Strictly."

One other viewer remarked: "Ashley was absolutely amazing. She outdanced Pasha!"

However, Ashley hasn't found her Strictly journey easy and has been heavily criticised throughout the series for her previous dance experience.

Despite wowing the judges and topping the leaderboard on a number of occasions, the 37-year-old has found herself in the bottom two for the last three weeks.

Ahead of Saturday's final, Ashley has admitted the show has been a lot harder in ways she hadn't expected.

She told The Sun Online and other media at the Strictly Finalists press conference in London: "The emotional rollercoaster ride, it is such a process throughout the week, what you go through.

"You start doubting yourself [and think] ‘how is this all going to come together on Saturday?’ but it does.

"I thought it would be physically challenging but also the emotional and mental strain that sometimes happens is whoa!

"But it’s all worth it when you look back; we’ve all done such amazing work."

Ashley was then asked how she has managed to stay motivated despite being in the bottom two with partner Pasha Kovalev three times in a row.

She said: "The motivation comes naturally, when I first got the call to do this show I was so excited and so grateful to be part of this amazing show.

"The first two times in the dance off I was like ‘OK this is a bit of a bummer’ but Monday hits, it’s a week, it’s a fresh start and you get in there and you get focused.

"By the third time I looked at Pash and said ‘OK hunny should we just give them a little show because we’re here’."

Last week, the couple found themselves in the dance off against Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard, with the judges unanimously deciding to put Ashley and Pasha through to the final.

Ashley added: "The amazing thing though is that we did have battle it out to get to the final but I’m so grateful to be here and just go out with these fabulous people and enjoy it."

Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220.

We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.