Shayne Ward favourite for Strictly departure

Singer 10/11 with one bookies to be the next to leave the show…

Former X Factor winner and Coronation Street actor Shayne Ward is the favourite to leave Strictly Come Dancing this weekend and is currently odds-on with BetMGM.

The bookmaker has odds of 10/11 on Ward to be the next eliminated after he defied similarly short odds last weekend. Wynne Evans is the second favourite to leave the show, with the Opera singer currently 7/4 to be voted off.

JB Gill and Pete Wicks are next on the list at 4/1 and 8/1, as just nine couples remain in the show, but it seems Ward will have to produce something special to make it through to next week.

UK Director at BetMGM, Sam Behar:

“We are starting to see the business end of Strictly Come Dancing now, and are approaching the time in the show where there is very little margin for error. We’ve seen Shayne Ward be backed to leave the show this weekend, and have odds of 10/11 for him to be the next elimination. We’ve also seen money for Wynne Evans and he’s the second favourite at 7/4, so with the next celebrities at 4/1 and 8/1, it seems likely that one of Ward or Evans will dance for the final time this weekend.”

Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu perform on episode six of the 2024 Strictly series /BBC/Guy Levy

This week the Beeb also confirmed the return of the Strictly Dance-A-Thon. On Saturday November 23^rd, the remaining Strictly couples will take to the Ballroom floor together to impress the judges with their best Samba moves in this series Samba-Thon.

Strictly’s first Dance-A-Thon challenge took place in the show’s seventh series in 2009 and has reappeared numerous times throughout the show’s 22 series. The Dance-A-Thon format is a staple of Ballroom and Latin dance competitions around the world and its back this year for the 20^th year anniversary series is a nod towards the world of professional Ballroom and Latin dancing.

After all of the couples have performed their main dance in the show, they’ll shimmy back on to the Ballroom floor to Samba as a group before the judges eliminate couples one by one, until the winner is crowned. Couples will need to quickly impress the judges as their final position in the Samba-Thon will have an impact on the overall score for the night.

The first couple to be eliminated in the Samba-Thon will be awarded one point, with the second couple eliminated earning two points and so on, through to the winner who will have seven points added to their leaderboard position which is made up of the judges scores from their main dance in the show that evening. This means that the Samba-Thon could have a real impact on who stays and who leaves the competition.

The contestants taking part in the Samba-Thon will be revealed in the Sunday results show from the Blackpool Tower on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The Samba-Thon will feature in the show on Saturday 23^rd November on BBC One and iPlayer.

Nancy Xu & Shayne Ward perform on episode 5 of SCD 2024 /BBC/Guy Levy

Next to leave Strictly Come Dancing: