It's not just Strictly Come Dancing viewers Will Mellor has got hot under the collar, as bookies have been so blown away by his first live show performance that they've changed the odds on who will win this year to make him the favourite.
Will, who first shot to TV fame in the mid 90s on Hollyoaks, was near the top of the betting from the moment he was announced as one of the first celebs for the new series. However, in the days and weeks leading up to Saturday's opening live show he'd been passed by Fleur East and Helen Skelton, with Helen edging just ahead of Fleur to be favourite going into the live broadcast.
Helen and Fleur both did rather well, although some Strictly viewers claimed Fleur was undermarked, but it was Will who got everyone talking at home, thanks to his and pro partner Nancy Xu's red hot jive to Ricky Martin. The judges were left almost speechless by the performance, with their glowing praise backed up by their scores, as Will and Nancy earned 34 out of 40.
READ MORE: Fleur East in Strictly 'undermarked' row as fans hit out at judges
They ended the night joint top of the leaderboard, after wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin got the same score on his debut. However, it's Will that bookies have put at the top of their pile after social media went wild for him.
At the time of writing on Sunday night, Will was favourite with Betfair, on odds of 6/4, with Fleur and Helen both on 9/2. Hamza has climbed up the betting significantly to now be at 12/1 for the win, while Matt Goss has fallen back and Tony Adams and Kaye dams are both outside shots at 90/1.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “Punters have raced to back Will Mellor to win Strictly this year after his impressive performance in the first week and his odds have been cut to 6/4 favourite from 5/1.
“Helen Skelton was the previous favourite but bettors have cooled their interested and she now trails Mellor in the betting at 9/2."
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