Dancing With The Stars: Who Will Win This Year’s Series?
Daire Walsh
Week Eight of the competition is almost upon us and with the first dance-off having taken place last weekend, betting sites are once again looking at the odds of each remaining contestant in this year’s Dancing With The Stars.
After being revealed as the bottom two in the public vote last Sunday, former RTE newsreader Eileen Dunne and 2003 Miss World winner Rosanna Davison found themselves back on the dancefloor in a bid to remain in the reckoning for another week at least.
Dunne and her dance partner Robert Rowinski had earlier scored 19 points for their Paso Doble to A La Carte’s Viva Torero, while Davison and Stephen Vincent gained a combined score of 22 after executing a Tango to Together in Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey.
In order to avoid elimination, the participant in a dance-off must gain approval from two of the three DWTS judges.
In the end, after both couples had performed their respective dances for a second time, Arthur Gourounlian and Brian Redmond opted to save Davison and Vincent at the expense of Dunne and Rowinski.
Even though her vote wasn’t required in the end, Loraine Barry did state that she would have elected to keep Davison and Vincent in the competition.
Davison Seen As An Outsider For Top Dancing Prize
While she would have been delighted to have survived the dance-off, Davison will now be hoping that an improved performance for Orchestra Week this coming Sunday can help her to progress automatically from a packed field.
However, at the time of writing, she is viewed as a 14/1 outsider with BoyleSports to come away with the competition’s top dancing prize.
Whelan Once Again The Bookies’ Favourites For DWTS Title
Although he only secured the third-highest vote from the judges last weekend, Wild Youth band member David Whelan remains the favourite with specials betting sites to win the 2024 Dancing With The Stars.
It was always going to be tough to replicate the 10 he received from Barry in week six for a Rumba to Sting’s Fields of Gold, but he nevertheless claimed a brace of nines and an eight for his Quickstep with Salome Chachua to Almost Like Being in Love by Bradley Walsh.
At odds of 13/8, he continues to lead the betting for RTE’s prime Sunday evening programme.
Hydrangea Breathing Down Whelan’s Neck
Yet Blu Hydrangea has been keeping up the pace for several weeks and last Sunday’s show saw the Northern Ireland drag queen and Simone Arena delivering arguably the best dance of season seven to date.
Claiming a score of nine from Redmond was impressive in its own right, but the perfect 10 that Barry and Gourounlian awarded the pair raised the roof off the studio.
A Viennese Waltz to Teddy Swims’ Lose Control, this dance also saw Hydrangea appearing as Joshua Cargill for the first time in the series.
One of the most consistent performers on a weekly basis, Blu is rated as a 10/3 prospect amongst Irish bookmakers.
Russell Now Seen As A Genuine Contender
Having initially struggled to make an impression, former national hunt jockey Davy Russell has proven to be one of the surprise packages of this year’s Dancing With The Stars.
His chances of success appeared bleak when he only garnered 12 points from the judges in week three, but just 21 days later, he was awarded an excellent tally of 26 for a dance that was dedicated to his wife Edelle.
This particular effort helped to gain him immunity from last weekend’s dance-off, though the solid total of 23 that he and Kylee Vincent claimed for their Tango to Whatever Love Wants by Sarah Vaughan might have been enough to keep them out of it in any event.
After being well down the betting pecking order for much of his time on the show, Russell is now the third-favourite to win the latest edition of DWTS at 4/1.
Presenters Mia And Fox Also In The Reckoning
Meanwhile, just behind the Cork native are Katja Mia and Laura Fox – presenters on Virgin Media and RTE respectively – at odds of 9/2 with betting apps.
The daughter of Burundi parents who was raised in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Mia produced a season best tally of 27 points last week for her Charleston to I Need You by Jon Batiste with professional partner Ervinas Merfeldas – who interestingly is the Kildare-born son of Lithuanian parents.
Like Mia, Galway woman Fox has continued to score high marks from the DWTS judges and has yet to drop below 21 points for any of her dances in the competition. Performing a Cha-cha-cha to Ariana Grande’s ‘yes, and?’
Fox and Denys Samson came away with a strong haul of 24 points – or eight points each – from the judges and they are expected to remain in the hunt despite being the last contestants to be called safe on Sunday last.
Smyth Viewed As Rank Outsider For An Overall Win
Coming in behind Davison at the far end of the betting for Dancing With The Stars is Irish paralympic legend Jason Smyth.
This in spite of the fact that he produced one of his best performances of the series so far last weekend.
Showcasing his Samba with Karen Byrne to Enrique Iglesias’ Rhythm Divine, he was handed a healthy total of 23 points.
This was just a single point off his Week Three tally – a Contemporary Ballroom dance to Show Me What I’m Looking For by Carolina Liar.
He is only available at 25/1 with new betting sites as a potential winner, but even though it seems unlikely that he will come out on top, his considerable popularity could see him continuing to feature in the competition for an extended spell.