Is there real value in the Strictly market? You bet!

Bookmakers cannot see past favourites Joe McFadden and Debbie McGee for the Glitter Ball trophy – but OddsMonkey believes they might have it wrong as we enter semi-final weekend on Strictly Come Dancing.

Casualty actor McFadden and his professional partner Katya Jones have only emerged as favourites for the title in recent weeks, whilst McGee and Giovanni Pernice have been towards the head of the market for a number of weeks after a blistering start to the campaign.

“McFadden, the only male celebrity left, is now firm at the head of the market at around 11/10 with McGee the only one near him at 15/8,” said OddsMonkey spokesman Peter Watton.

“Alexandra Burke had been the favourite early on but she has struggled in recent weeks and she has been in the bottom two last two weeks, which suggests she is struggling for public support – hence she is out to around 6/1 and Saturday’s singer Mollie King is widely expected to go this weekend.

“The real interesting one for us is former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson – she clearly has public support, having never been in the bottom two – despite some poor scores from the judges.

“The likeable actress is now out to around 7 to 8/1, and if you think that is too big to be a contender – just look back to last year when Ore Oduba took the Glitter Ball when similar odds to that of Gemma – there is real value in this market from what we can see.

“The Bookmakers think it is a two-horse race with Joe and Debbie, but we are far from sure that is right.”

Selected Strictly Come Dancing Odds:
Joe McFadden 11/10
Debbie McGee 15/8
Alexandra Burke 6/1
Gemma Atkinson 8/1
Mollie King 14/1