Clues aplenty for Strictly punters
Harold Wilson once said a week is a long time in politics; it’s even longer in reality tv betting with the first two nights of Strictly having a seismic impact on the markets.
Ali Bastian, as predicted here, shone in partnership with Brian Fortuna and she appears rock solid moving forward because she possesses the dance floor skills backed up by a likeable personality, good chemistry with her pro partner, and non-threatening good looks. The 12s we suggested you snap up on her in the outright and 5-1 to be top female already look tremendous value.
Anyone sneaking a peak at the leaked training footage of Joe Calzaghe on Friday (flagged up on our Twitter feed) swiftly got stuck into laying him, and his long-term prospects look bleak unless Rihanoff can conjure some monumental improvement in the next couple of weeks.
Outside of the first 8 competing contestants the group mambo showed a potential star of the series in the form of Ricky Whittle but as usual the market has over-reacted and he represents no value at a current best-priced 5-2. At around Evens to be Top Male he is a tempting lay given we’ve not actually seen him dance a full routine yet, and know little about his personality.
The other danger to Whittle is that there appears to be a number of males in this year’s series who could prove to be journey contestants. Rav Wilding, having come perilously close to being eliminated, could be one, and Ricky Groves who put in a crowd-pleasing Latin routine, is another.
And one of the unlikely stars of the first two shows was Chris Hollins. He looks an excellent technician and given his ‘Breakfast’ slot, he can be expected to go a long way in the competition. We also get the distinct impression that Phil Tufnell will prove comedy gold in partnership with Katya Virshilas.
Unless Dunwoody was throwing off punters in a cunning ploy to ensure his odds drift out, he looked more leaden-footed than a full-size snooker table during that group mumbo, while Laila Rouass hinted at her potential and she could throw down the gauntlet to Bastian for Top Female honours. As such the 5-1 available on Laila should be taken now. We are less bullish about Jade Johnson’s long-term prospects, however, as we sense she may struggle to get the popular vote.
Rob Furber