Strictly Come Dancing’s Paul Merson has been hit with a devastating setback just hours before the forthcoming live show. Despite dodging the dance-off, Paul and his dance partner Karen Hauer are tipped by bookies to be shown the door this weekend.
Hot on their heels are TV medic Punam Krishan and reality star Pete Wicks.
Betway spokesperson Chad Yeomans remarked: “Paul and Karen impressed the judges last week with their best score yet, but they’re dancing the notoriously tricky Samba this weekend to the 1976 hit Car Wash.
“Many punters believe this could be a step too far, making Paul the even-money favourite to bow out. Next in the elimination betting this week come Punam Krishan at 3/1 and Pete Wicks at 15/2.”
Shifting his focus to who might clinch the win, he added: “Chris McCausland continues to go from strength to strength and remains the odds-on favourite to win the competition with his closest rival for the Glitterball trophy being Tasha Ghouri,” reports Birmingham Live.
On Wednesday night, Paul and Karen featured on Strictly It Takes Two to discuss their upcoming performance on Saturday.
Despite earning high praise from judges, Paul is now steeling himself for the next challenge. He aims to dazzle with a Samba routine set to the classic tune Car Wash, noting that it feels like a return to “back reality.”
Describing what the previous week’s dance meant to him, Paul told Janette Manrara: “Amazing. Just to get a nice dance.
“Obviously, a BBQ, a vindaloo, and footballs are coming in, and he looks like someone who works on a ship. Yeah, it was nice to dance. I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair.
“It felt nice when I first took up the chance to come on to the show. This is what I thought it would be roughly. Do you know what I mean? So it was nice to get one of those dances in.”
Strictly fans have expressed their concerns regarding Paul’s comedic performances, insisting they wish to see him undertake more earnest efforts and voicing concern that he may be voted off on the forthcoming Sunday evening.
One remarked: “It makes me annoyed to see Paul and Karen talking about how much he loved being Fred Astaire during the quickstep, and that’s what he always expected #Strictly to be, not the silly stuff. And then this week they have a samba to Car Wash, back to being the joke again.”
Simultaneously, another declared: “#Strictly Please listen to Paul and Karen! The expectation when signing up was to learn to dance, with all the associated elegance, not silly songs and silly themes.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday to BBC One.