Ratas and his partner, Kristina Tarmet, made the final along with third-placed paring of former Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan and Kerttu Tänav, but were pipped at the post by the due of actor Ülle Lichtfeldt and Marko Mehine, Delfi reported (link in Estonian) via its Kroonika lifestyle portal.

The series, a reboot after several years' absence and following a format similar to that of the UK's "Strictly Come Dancing" show, was among this autumn's most-watched shows, while Jüri Ratas regularly posted clips on his social media account, giving updates on the progress he and Kristina Tarmet had made.

"We will definitely miss the routine," Ratas told Kroonika.

"But it has been great - the rehearsing, the nice people and the slight nervous tension. It will certainly take a few days to get back to the normal lifestyle from this point."

While Tarmet had run for the coalition Reform Party at last October's local elections, this did not seem to dampen the pair's working relationship, which Ratas praised also.

"There were two things - first, a great deal of trust, and second, Kristina's life path and professionalism," he said.

Ratas also expressed his congratulations to Lichtfeldt and Mehine, via his social media page.

Whether and to what extent Ratas' run of success on "Tantsud tähtedega" will translate to electoral success at next spring's general election remains to be seen, though Prime Minister and Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas has not been idle when it comes to the dancefloor either – recently performing a traditional folk dance with Maaleht journalist Madis Jürgen, daily Eesti Päevaleht (EPL) reports (link in Estonian).

Delfi, Maaleht, Kroonika and EPL are all published by the Ekspress Grupp.

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