Strictly Come Dancing’s Paul Merson has encountered a significant hurdle just hours before the first live show. Last week, the celebrities made their debut on the dance floor with their professional partners.
However, come Saturday night, they will all be competing for their place in the competition as they anticipate the judges’ feedback. The popular duo Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are set to return as hosts of the BBC spectacle, while judges Moti Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton du Beke, and Shirley Ballas resume their judging roles.
With the first elimination approaching, bookies have been busy predicting who might be the first to leave the stage – and the forecast isn’t looking good for Paul.
Betway’s Chad Yeomans shared his thoughts: “With the news on Saturday night’s show that Paul Merson’s first dance will be an American Smooth to the World Cup anthem Vindaloo, many punters think there will be nothing smooth about it whatsoever, and he is now the hot favourite at 6/4 to be packing his Strictly bags first,” reports Express.
Just behind Paul is Nick Knowles with odds of 5/2 for elimination, while Punam Krishan and Wynne Evans are tied in third place with odds of 13/2, reports Wales Online.
Chris McCausland and Toyah Willcox stand at odds of 10/1, followed by Tom Dean at 12/1. On the other hand, Shayne Ward and Tasha Ghouri seem to be the clear favourites, both with long odds of 50/1.
During the launch of Strictly Come Dancing, Paul discussed his limited dancing experience with hosts Tess and Claudia, revealing he had only hit the dance floor during his own weddings. “I am going to have fun,” he declared earnestly, stressing the importance of enjoyment.
“That is one thing I am going to make sure, of is to have fun. If I don’t have fun, it is not worth doing.”
When questioned by Claudia about any advice from former colleague and previous Strictly contestant Tony Adams, Paul responded with a tongue-in-cheek comment: “Yeah, don’t do it.”
This Saturday will showcase Paul and his professional dance partner Karen Hauer performing an American Smooth on the show. Paul jokingly noted that he was thrilled about their pairing: “I am well pleased you put the two oldest together.”
Sharing in Paul’s enthusiasm, Karen added her thoughts about their future performances, optimistically saying: “I think we are going to have a lot of fun actually, I just want you to enjoy yourself and we want everyone to enjoy themselves as this is the greatest experience.”
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and will air on Saturday night.