Strictly Come Dancing star Shaun Wright-Phillips is once again being tipped for an early exit, with bookmakers predicting he could be the next celebrity eliminated from the competition.
Last week, the former footballer and his professional partner Alexis Warr were favourites to become the first couple voted off the 2026 series.
However, the predictions proved wide of the mark when Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden found themselves in the bottom two and became the first couple eliminated.
Strictly Come Dancing star Shaun Wright-Phillips favourite to be eliminated this weekend
Although Shaun managed to escape the dance-off last Sunday, bookmakers at Betway believe he could be in danger when the competition returns this weekend.
Lewis Knowles explained: “Shaun Wright-Phillips has already shown he can defy the odds, having been the favourite to be eliminated last week, only to deliver a much-improved performance and avoid the bottom two altogether.”
Shaun is once again the frontrunner to leave, with odds of 9/4. Despite his position at the top of the market, his chances of survival are “looking much better than they were this time last week.”
The former footballer will be hoping to build on his improved performance and upset the bookmakers’ predictions for a second week running.
Close behind Shaun is Dame Sarah Storey, who has odds of 11/4 to be eliminated. She is partnered with Australian professional dancer Julian Caillon.
Gavin & Stacey actress Melanie Walters is next at 3/1, with her professional partner Aljaz Skorjanec.
Actress Jamie Winstone, who found herself in the bottom two last weekend, is further down the market at 5/1. Bethany Antonia has odds of 16/1, while Lawrence Robb and Will Best are both at 33/1.
Knowles added: “However, it’s the big names at the bottom of the market who look to have little to worry about, with Dani Dyer at 100/1, Delta Goodrem at 80/1 and Lacey Turner a huge 200/1 to be eliminated next.”
How did Shaun perform on the leaderboard last weekend?
Despite being tipped for elimination, Shaun finished seventh on the leaderboard last weekend out of the 15 contestants.
For Movie Week, he and Alexis performed a Salsa to Saturday Night Fever.
The routine earned them three sevens from judges Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke. Craig Revel Horwood, however, awarded the pair just four points.
Their combined score was 25, putting them in the middle of the leaderboard and helping Shaun avoid the dance-off.
Shaun showed huge improvement after he was bottom of the leaderboard during the first week with a score of 15.
Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6.15pm on BBC One on Saturday October 9, 2026.
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