Laila’s last dance?
Strictly was a hugely frustrating, no betting zone in the lead up to last Saturday with no bookmaker prices issued due to question marks over Jade’s participation, and hence no post on here.
Tufnell’s exit the previous Saturday came as a big shock and an even bigger disappointment having backed him on the outright and fanfared his overall chances. It was also horrible to learn Jade couldn’t dance having recommended her at 7s to be top scorer, and by all accounts her tango was a shoe-in for top spot. The bookies essentially got very lucky there but at least Laila landed the odds by propping up the leaderboard.
Looking ahead our other two outright tips – Ali at 12s and Chris at 28s – are still going strong but with only 5 couples left following Jade’s withdrawal and the spectre of a 2-couple final, Chris isn’t looking nearly as sound a bet as he did.
Again, the bookies have got lucky, cos in a 3-couple final, Chris would only have needed to top the public vote to win. But now we are concerned that come the semi-final, he’ll likely find himself in the dance off before being swiftly jettisoned off the show. We have already seen the judges do their utmost to keep Ali and Ricky Whittle safe, and it’s logical to assume they’ll continue to go all-out to try and ensure the final is between these 2.
Given the above, you might want to consider laying off Hollins when it gets to the final 3. In the meantime, it merely looks a case of who goes first in the next 2 weeks between Laila and Natalie in a series that has rapidly turned into an enormous anti-climax.
This Saturday it’s a choice of two new dances in the form of either the Charleston or Rock ‘N’ Roll. Ricky Whittle, Natalie and Laila are in the mix for bottom two and given Natalie’s consistent support throughout the series, we reckon the Laila/Ricky W combo is the way to go, now at a best-priced 16s – the shrewdies already having steamed in to the initial quote of 25s.
It’ll be a shame to see the gorgeous Laila depart as she has shown moments of ballroom quality and we still reckon her paso in Blackpool was a beauty, criminally under-marked and in a different league to anything Natalie has produced series-long.
Given that Laila could do a half-decent Charleston and will undoubtedly look the part, there’s an outside chance Nat will be bottom of the leaderboard and Laila 3rd, so while less likely, the Nat/Ricky W bottom 2 combo looks over-priced at 20s and is worth a poke, while you should also have a saver on the Nat/Laila combo at 2-1.
Rob Furber