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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Siobhan Macdonald

Strictly Come Dancing: Fleur East and Helen Skelton joint bookies favourites to win

Fleur East and Helen Skelton are currently the bookies top picks for this year's Strictly Come Dancing winners.

The pair are currently locked at 7/2 apiece for this year's Glitterball Trophy, while Will Mellor is just behind at 6/1 in the betting. Elsewhere, Matt Goss has seen his odds slashed from 9/1 to just 15/2 to win the BBC ballroom dancing show, while every other name is 10/1 or bigger as things stand.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "We could be set for one of the closest series' of Strictly yet, with Helen Skelton and Fleur East currently locked at the head of the betting."

Countryfile host Helen has been looking forward to her Strictly stint, following her shocking split from ex Richie Myler earlier this year. Helen’s eight-year marriage to Myler ended in April, four months after their third child was born.

The TV star, who shares children Ernie, seven, Louis, five, and Elsie, seven months, with Myler, previously said of the split: “Very sad to say Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co-parent our small children.”

Fleur East is tipped to win Strictly, according to bookies (2022 Karwai Tang)

The expert at Illicit Encounters, a marital affairs site, exclusively told The Mirror: "I think it’s a brilliant move for her. She’s recently had a baby and if all the crying, baby fluids and lack of sleep’s not enough to put you off sex and dating, I don’t know what is.

"No doubt Helen won’t be ready to think about a new relationship right now but what Strictly will give her, is a chance to put all of her previous trauma behind her and focus on the man standing in front of her."

This comes after the Strictly launch is in doubt this weekend following the death of the Queen as fans are still waiting to hear if the hit BBC show will kick off on Saturday. As it stands, the BBC is only issuing its TV schedule a day in advance, with many changes being made following Her Majesty's death.

There's said to be a "50/50" chance of the launch episode airing.

TV Zone's Twitter page said: "For everybody asking: It's still 50/50 as to whether #Strictly will air next weekend. The question the BBC will be weighing up is whether it's appropriate to air it on the bank holiday weekend of the funeral and period of national mourning.

"Two most likely scenarios if the launch show does NOT air next weekend: a) Launch show airs on Sat 24th Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 1st Oct (series will be a week shorter than planned). b) Launch shows airs on Fri 23rd Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 24th Sept as planned."

The BBC has said it is only confirming schedules for today and tomorrow. However, with the Queen's funeral due to take place on September 19, many fans think Strictly's launch is looking unlikely for next weekend.

The pre-recorded Strictly Come Dancing launch episode, which sees the celebrity stars matched up with their professional dancing partners, was set to air on Saturday, September 17. However, the UK has entered a national period of mourning after Her Majesty's death at the age of 96.

Several broadcasters have switched up their schedules since the sad news - with the BBC pulling several shows and moving others to a different channel. The broadcaster has been airing national and regional news programmes between shows including Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life In Images, Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, and When The Queen Spoke To The Nation.

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