Strictly Come Dancing star Montell Douglas has been given a huge boost to her odds of winning the dancing competition since her initial signing – meaning Johannes Radebe could make it to the final for a second time during his Strictly career.
Douglas stars as Fire in the BBC One reboot of Gladiators and has also competed as an Olympic Bobsledder and Team GB Sprinter, previously winning a Commonwealth Gold in the 4x100m relay race in 2010.
After she was announced to be joining the show, Douglas said: “Strictly ARE YOU READY, Fire is here to light up the Ballroom. Wow, I am so honoured to have been asked to do the show.
“It is such an amazing thing to be a part of and I can’t wait to get started. Hopefully, a few of my Gladiator moves will come in handy with the Tango or Paso Doble!”
When she was first announced to be joining the show, her odds of being eliminated first outweighed her odds of winning – but this all changed after the launch show.
According to Oddchecker, JLS star JB Gill currently sits with odds of 7/2 and winning the series, with Love Island star Tasha Ghouri hot on his heels with odds of 11/2.
Former favourite, singer Shayne Ward, has slipped and currently has odds of 13/2 to win the series, along with EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and former Olympian Sam Quek sitting tight with odds of 9/1.
Douglas has shot up the market after the launch show, however, with punters backing her to win the show more than any other celeb.
Oddschecker spokesperson Leon Blackman noted: “Following Saturday’s launch, Montell Douglas has become a surprise favourite among Strictly Come Dancing bettors.
“Since the show aired, Douglas has received 21.4 percent of all bets in the winner market, a significant leap from just 1.6 percent before Saturday.”
However, this doesn’t mean victory is a given for the Gladiators star.
“However, historically, this may not bode well for her, as none of the top five most popular bets post-launch in the last five years have gone on to win the competition,” Blackman continued.
“In the first elimination market, Paul Merson appears to be the prime candidate to be voted off. With odds of 11/8, bookies give him a 42.1 percent probability of being the first to leave, and 27.3 percent of bettors on Oddschecker are backing him to go.”
Before Radebe was announced as her partner, Douglas was asked whether she would be bringing her Gladiator character – Fire – to the dancefloor, prompting her to tell Claudia Winkleman: “It is definitely going to be a mash.
“We are going to need the fire extinguisher at some point, the fire is going to be out there. I am going to bring a bit of here because I am here but I do want everyone to get to know the real me because I made her so watch out.
“I do really embrace criticism, it is the only way you can get better and as an athlete, my whole life I have been told, every day, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, fix it, so my attention to detail I feel like is there and if it’s not there I am just going to smile through it.”
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Before meeting Radebe, she admitted: “It feels like I am about to race almost, that kind of anxious feeling and waiting. So now I just want to get to the start line.”
As he revealed himself to her, the star screamed and expressed: “I am speechless and I am never speechless!”
She added to Winkleman and Tess Daly back in the studio: “I don’t think there is a person on this earth who doesn’t want to be partnered with Jojo, I am over the moon.”
