We are reaching the business end of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing with the standard and the intensity ramping up. And a bombshell at Blackpool really shifted the goalposts as it was revealed that there would be no Week 9 elimination due to La Voix pulling out of the series with injury. This means that the scores from Blackpool will be carried forward to Week 10 and our betting experts are looking at who is the most likely to come to the end of the road and where the value lies.
Strictly Results Week 9
While the news that there would be no Week 9 elimination put a damper on things to some extent, the level of performance across the board in Blackpool was fantastic. And the scores from Week 9 will be carried over into Week 10. The standings are as follows.
| Couple | Score |
|---|---|
| Lewis Cope and Katya Jones | 40 |
| George Clarke and Alexis Warr | 39 |
| Karen Carney and Carlos Gu | 39 |
| Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin | 36 |
| Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe | 35 |
| Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon | 33 |
Strictly Odds Next Elimination
Heading into Week 10, Balvinder Sopal is in the familiar position of being the bookies’ favourite to be eliminated. The EastEnders actress has shown great improvement, and her four dance-off wins show that she is a tenacious competitor who can perform when the chips are down. However, she is the clear favourite to go in week 10 and she is starting with the lowest score from the judges in Week 9. We have scanned the top betting sites in the UK for the best elimination odds for Week 9.
| Celebrity | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Balvinder Sopal | 2/9 | bet365 |
| Alex Kingston | 13/2 | BetMGM |
| Amber Davies | 8/1 | Betfred |
| Karen Carney | 22/1 | Betfred |
| George Clarke | 50/1 | BetMGM |
| Lewis Cope | 100/1 | William Hill |
Odds correct at 07:30 on 26/11/2025. Odds subject to change.
Balvinder Set for Swansong? Is There Value to Be Found Elsewhere?
Balvinder Sopal has greatly improved, and she is also able to perform under pressure. She cannot be completely written off, but we feel that the soap star is reaching the end of the road. This is due to the quality of the other remaining celebrities rather than her shortcomings. However, with odds of 2/9, there is little value to be had. It could be worth exploring Alex Kingston and Amber Davies.
After looking as if she could have an outside chance of causing an upset and winning, Kingston has slipped backwards over the last couple of weeks. She has reached a good standard; however, an underperformance could see her in trouble.
Amber Davies’ Blackpool performance was very good, but on that evidence, she is unlikely to challenge the top three. A poor performance could see her in danger of ending up in the dance-off. And given that there was criticism over her inclusion in the series due to her previous dance experience, she may not get as much public support as some of her competitors.
While we think that time will run out for Balvinder Sopal, given their odds, it could be worth a punt on Amber Davies or Alex Kingston.
George Clarke remains favourite to win the series; however, the greatly improved Karen Carney has stolen a march on Lewis Cope to go second in the betting. Cope slips down to third. Check out our guide to betting on Strictly for more details.
