Strictly Come Dancing finally returned to our screens this weekend for the 20th anniversary series.
This year, 15 new celebrities will be battling it out on the famous dancefloor to take home the coveted Glitterball trophy. The star-studded line-up met their professional partners for the first time on Saturday (September 14) for the launch of the nation’s favourite dance show.
Strictly’s dynamic hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, returned to the helm, looking glamorous as ever. They were joined by judges Craig Revel-Horwood, Anton Du Beke, Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse as they celebrated two decades of dance.
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And it appears as though one star has already gained an edge just hours after they were matched up with their pro dancer. It has now been revealed that JLS singer JB Gill is the new favourite to win the BBC One dance competition after he took to the dancefloor for the group routine.
(Image: PA)
After the former boyband member was paired with returning star Amy Dowden – who was recently awarded an MBE for her services to fundraising and raising awareness for Chrones disease – JB’s odds of victory catapulted further.
The Welsh beauty, who sat out during last year’s series while she was receiving treatment for breast cancer, was welcomed back with a wild applause during the opening show. At the end of the opening routine, she was at the centre of a huge group hug with the other Strictly professionals who were clearly delighted by her return.
Amy and her celebrity partner JB – who finished third on ITV’s short-lived Strictly rival Dance Dance Dance – are now 7/2 favourites to be crowned champions this year. Hot on his heels in second place is Love Island ’s Tasha Ghouri, who has been paired with Aljaž Škorjanec – who is also returning to the show after a two-year break – at 11/2.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Former X Factor winner Shayne Ward, who will compete with Nancy Xu, is third favourite to win at 6/1. However, underdog Nick Knowles’ pairing with Luba Mushtak has done nothing to improve his odds of Strictly glory.
He was bottom of the pack before the launch show and his odds have lengthened further to 100/1. But he isn’t alone, with the DIY SOS star sharing the bottom spot with ex-footballer and pundit Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer.
Now all the celebrities and their professional partners are now busy training for their first performances this weekend (September 21). You can check the latest Strictly betting using our online odds tracker throughout the series.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
The show will span over 14 weeks, with one celebrity being shown the door each week, leading up to a live final on December 14. Fans will have to stay tuned to see which star will be crowned the winners of the 20th series later this year.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
