Dancing With The Stars: Who Will Win This Year’s Series?
Daire Walsh
Week Nine of the competition is coming fast on the horizon and with just six contestants remaining, betting sites are keeping a keen interest on the main contenders for this year’s Dancing With The Stars.
After surviving a dance-off with Eileen Dunne just seven days earlier, last Sunday saw 2003 Miss World Rosanna Davison ultimately suffering the same fate as that of the former RTE newsreader and presenter.
Having scored 22 points from the judges for her Paso Doble with Stephen Vincent to Georges Bizet’s Toreador Song, the Dubliner found herself in the bottom two alongside Virgin Media’s Katja Mia and her dancing partner Ervinas Merfeldas.
It seemed a bit harsh on the latter duo to be placed in the bottom-two as they had accumulated the fourth-most points (26) from the judges on the night.
Yet whereas it was the public that decided not to give Mia enough votes to remain safe, it was the expert opinions of Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian that counted in the dance-off.
Mia Is Being Given An Outside Chance To Win DWTS
While acknowledging that their second performances of the evening exceeded their original efforts, Redmond and Gourounlian opted to save Mia and Merfeldas for at least another week of the competition.
As was the case for Davison a week earlier, Barry would have sided with her fellow judges had it come down to it.
Although she has been scoring highly for several weeks, Mia is seen as a significant outsider in the race to win the 2024 Dancing With The Stars – perhaps not helped by her presence in last weekend’s dance-off.
In the eyes of specials betting sites, she is currently only viewed as a 15/2 prospect to emerge as the outright champion in season seven of DWTS.
A number of celebrities have moved in and out of contention over the course of the programme, but there has been one constant for virtually the entirety of this year’s fare.
Whelan Still Out In Front As Favourite
A member of Wild Youth – the band that represented Ireland at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest – David Whelan has been a long-standing favourite to become the latest winner of the competition.
Last Sunday saw him delivering another strong showing in unison with Salome Chachua as his Contemporary Ballroom to Coldplay’s Paradise during Orchestra Week saw him gaining 28 points from the judges.
This included a full score of 10 from Gourounlian, two weeks on from Barry giving him the same marks for a Rumba to Fields of Gold by Sting.
He is currently available at odds of 13/8 and is increasingly looking like a likely candidate for the top prize.
Hydrangea Keeping Up The Pace As Competition Rolls On
There are others who are more than capable of stealing it from under his nose, however, and Northern Ireland drag queen Blu Hydrangea continues to produce a string of outstanding dances alongside professional partner Simone Arena.
The pair had garnered a magnificent 29 points in week seven for their Viennese Waltz to Lose Control by Teddy Swims, but there was even more to come in Orchestra Week.
Executing a Samba to Hugh Jackman’s version of I Go to Trio, they drew a full 30 points from the completely won over judges.
This may only leave Hydrangea as second favourite at 3/1 with betting apps, but with a Quickstep to Beyonce’s Texas Hold ‘Em planned for this Sunday, a repeat performance could increase the pressure on Whelan and Chachua.
Russell And Fox Remains Very Much In The Running
As we are now moving into the quarter-final stage of the competition, each contestant will need to be at their very best to keep their hopes alive.
At 9/2 each, Davy Russell and Laura Fox are both in the top-four in the eyes of the bookies on the market, and they will be looking to justify that status this weekend.
After earning 23 points a week earlier, former national hunt jockey Russell and his partner Kylee Vincent matched this total in week eight with a Jive to Everybody Needs Somebody to Love by The Blues Brothers.
On the other hand, Fox earned nine points each from the judges for an overall tally of 27 for her Tango to A-ha’s Take On Me with Denys Samson.
The host of Ireland’s Fittest Family on RTE, this was Fox’s joint-highest score of the series and put her in a strong position to push on for a semi-final berth.
Smyth Still Viewed As A Long Shot For An Overall Success
While the public vote kept him away from a dance-off last week, Paralympic legend Jason Smyth is behind Mia in the bookies’ pecking order and remains a rank outsider for overall DWTS glory.
He was the last to be called safe in week eight, but a solid score of 21 for his Waltz with Karen Byrne to Enya’s Watermark helped to keep him in the competition.
It would come as little surprise if he made into Week 10 – given his massive popularity in Ireland – but he is currently seen as a long shot by with new betting sites at 50/1 to win the top dancing prize.