Jamie Winstone is back performing, but the market still has her at 10/11 to be voted off this weekend. That leaves Carlos Gu with the same problem: if they fall now, Blackpool Week slips out of reach before they get anywhere near the Blackpool Tower stage.
Winstone said she was “absolutely devastated” not to dance last weekend because of a torn abdominal muscle. She added that she was “in considerable pain,” and that her doctors had advised complete rest so her body had the best possible chance to heal.
Last weekend’s bye
Last weekend, Winstone and Gu were absent from the floor and were given a bye to this week’s show. The programme’s executives said she had been instructed by medical professionals to rest, which kept the pair in the competition without asking for a performance they could not safely deliver.
That pause matters because Blackpool Week sits at a higher point in the series than a routine elimination night. Winstone had already appeared in the triple dance-off during Halloween week, so the pair were not starting from a comfortable position even before the injury story took over.
Betway’s 10/11 warning
Lewis Knowles of Betway said Winstone was “odds-on at 10/11 to be voted off the show this weekend.” He also put Graeme Hall at 11/4 and Will Best at 7/1, while describing Lacey Turner as the firm favourite at 5/6 to lift this year’s Glitterball Trophy.
Those prices give the weekend its shape. Winstone is trying to return after a forced break, but the betting still puts her closer to elimination than survival, and that is before the series reaches one of its most visible milestones.
Saturday at 6.25pm
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday at 6.25pm on One, when the elimination will be decided. Winstone thanked supporters and said she was praying for a speedy recovery so she could continue the journey with Carlos.
For now, the story is simple: she has already missed one live show, the injury kept her out of last weekend’s dance, and the market says the comeback could be brief. If she survives Saturday, Blackpool Week stays alive; if not, the door closes before the pair get there.
