Dancing With The Stars: Who Will Win This Year’s Series?

Daire Walsh

We are now entering into week seven of the competition and while last Sunday’s broadcast didn’t feature any eliminations, betting sites are continuing to take great interest in this year’s Dancing With The Stars.

Following the exits of Rory Cowan, Miriam Mullins and Shane Quigley Murphy in the earlier episodes, week six of RTE’s evening time programme saw the eight remaining celebrity contestants and their partners taking on dedicated dances, safe in the knowledge that they were going to be around for another seven days at the very least.

However, there was something at stake on Sunday with the pair who garnered the most votes from the public being granted immunity from a potential dance-off on the coming weekend.

Russell Granted Immunity For This Week’s Show

Although the impressive David Whelan and his partner Salome Chachua secured 28 points for their Rumba to Sting’s Fields of Gold (dedicated to Whelan’s father Jim, who was a gifted dancer in his own right), his namesake Davy Russell and Kylee Vincent were the ones who got the most love from the Irish people.

Having struggled at times in the early stages of the competition – only scoring 12 points as recently as week three – former national hunt jockey Russell took the feedback of the series’ judges on board and subsequently displayed rapid strides on the dancefloor.

After scoring a respectable 21 and 20 in the preceding fortnight, last Sunday saw Russell and Vincent securing 26 points for a Contemporary Ballroom to Katy Perry’s Roar.

Dedicated to his wife Edelle, this proved to be a favourite amongst the judges, the audience, his fellow contestants and – most crucially – those watching from the comfort of their sitting rooms.

As a result of his best performance to date – and the fact that his time on the programme is guaranteed to be extended – Russell’s odds on becoming the Dancing With The Stars champion for 2024 have been reduced to 11/2.

This only marks him out as the fifth favourite for the top prize, but he is certainly being taken more seriously as a genuine candidate in this year’s competition.

Whelan Still The Favourite For Dancing Honours

Yet thanks to his excellent showing last weekend – which saw him garnering the first 10 of this season of Dancing With The Stars from former world champion Loraine Barry – the aforementioned Whelan remains specials betting sites favourite heading into week seven.

He has been their choice for the majority of the competition to date and is currently leading the field at 5/4.

Hydrangea Still Features Highly In DWTS Betting

Northern Ireland drag queen Blu Hydrangea has also been producing strong performances alongside professional partner Simone Arena and scored an impressive 24 points for a Paso Doble to RuPaul’s Sissy That Walk.

Interestingly, this dance was actually dedicated to the musician that recorded the song as Hydrangea was the inaugural winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and regards the famous American drag queen as a mentor.

The dynamic pair of Hydrangea and Arena have been as safe as houses to date and at odds of 15/2, they are currently the second favourites to claim the 2024 DWTS title.

Mia And Fox Still Very Much In The Reckoning

Having earned 23 points in the previous week, Virgin Media presenter Katja Mia and her partner Ervinas Merfeldas secured an improved tally of 26 during dedicated dance week.

Performed as a tribute to her sisters Andrea and Fiona – both of whom were in attendance on the night – Mia executed a Tango to Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves by Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin.

This gained her a score of nine from both Barry and Arthur Gourounlian, while Brian Redmond still handed Mia and Merfeldas a respectable total of 8. She might be behind Whelan and Hydrangea in the betting stakes, but at 15/2, she isn’t to be discounted.

The same could be said for Ireland’s Fittest Family host Laura Fox, who is 9/2 at the time of writing. Last weekend saw her performing a Quickstep to Sharon Shannon and Mundy’s version of Galway Girl.

This was quite appropriate given both Fox and her grandmother Nora (to whom the dance was dedicated) both hail from the Connacht county.

While the 25 points that Fox and partner Denys Samson were awarded for this rendition was somewhat off their season high of 27 in the previous week, she remains one of the more consistent contestants in the competition and has a strong shot at going far this year.

Davison An Interesting Outside Shout For Main Prize 

Just behind Russell at the moment is Rosanna Davison, who danced last Sunday to her father Chris de Burgh’s smash hit Lady in Red. Her Rumba went down well with the judges, who gave her a combined points haul of 26 – the exact same tally she managed on the previous week.

She is currently rated at 10/1 with betting apps, but if she continues to garner a high score from the judges – and can keep the Irish public on her side – that could very well change.

Smyth And Dunne Viewed As Rank Outsiders To Win Competition

The ever-popular Jason Smyth also took to the dancefloor last Sunday and was awarded 20 points for his Viennese Waltz – performed in unison with Karen Byrne – to Daughters by John Mayer.

This was dedicated to his daughters Evie and Lottie and though there are physical obstacles in his place, the Paralympics legend is continuing to keep himself in the competition.

While he is an outside bet at 50/1 to secure the Dancing With The Stars crown, Smyth is an immensely popular sporting figure and don’t be surprised if he continues to feature beyond the upcoming week.

A former newsreader who worked with RTE for over 40 years, Eileen Dunne and partner Robert Rowinski performed a Foxtrot to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary last weekend.

This was dedicated to her friend and former colleague Mary Kennedy – who featured in an earlier season of Dancing With The Stars – and it secured them a total of 17 points for a remarkable fourth week on the bounce.

However, at 100/1 with new betting sites, she isn’t seen as a major contender for the top prize in this competition and might come unstuck if she is forced into a dance-off in week seven.