Shaun Wright-Phillips is the 7/4 favourite to become the next celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, putting him ahead of the rest of the field before the show returns tonight. The betting market has sharpened around one name while 14 couples prepare to dance again on One at 6.15pm.
Nicola McGeady said: "The market suggests four celebrities are firmly in the firing line this weekend, but it's Shaun Wright-Phillips who punters believe is most likely to become the first casualty of the series." That line from the latest Ladbrokes market matters because it turns the next episode into a numbers game, with one contestant clearly separated from the pack rather than a broad open race.
Ladbrokes market at 7/4
7/4 leaves Wright-Phillips shorter than every other remaining contestant, and the gap is enough to make him the clear elimination favourite rather than simply one of several names under pressure. Melanie Walters follows at 5/2, Sarah Storey is 3/1, and Jaime Winstone is 6/1, while all remaining contestants are priced at 20/1 or longer.
Those prices show where the market thinks the danger sits: not across the whole cast, but concentrated among four names. In betting terms, the shorter the price, the stronger the expectation that the contestant will go next, which is why Wright-Phillips sits at the centre of the prediction.
Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden
Week two of the 2026 series already delivered one exit, when Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden lost the dance-off and went out after the judges saved Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. That result left 14 couples in the competition and reset the elimination picture around who might be judged weakest next.
The dance-off format means a single head-to-head result can move the market quickly, especially when judges keep one pair in and send another home. After that week two decision, punters have settled on Wright-Phillips as the likeliest next departure, with the rest of the field priced far more loosely.
One at 6.15pm
The next test arrives tonight at 6.15pm on One, when the remaining 14 couples return to the dance floor and the betting line gets its first fresh check. If Wright-Phillips survives, the market will need to be recalculated; if he goes, Ladbrokes will have read the competition better than the results on the night.
For now, the smart read is simple: Wright-Phillips is the name the market has chosen, but the show still has to make the call.
