Strictly Come Dancing Winner Odds 2025: Our waltzing warriors!

It's back - that twinkly BBC Saturday night staple, sashaying through our living rooms since 2004. Strictly Come Dancing revealed last weekend the pairings that will do battle for the famous Glitter Ball in 2025, and such is the frenetic and attritional nature of life in Strictly world we've lost one celebrity already before the dancing and voting's even started - more of that later.

Here's a look at this season's runners and riders, and their prices ahead of sequin-infested hostilities commencing in earnest on Saturday night. Fake tan at the ready - here we go, your gateway to winter, Movie/Musicals nights, Blackpool, kind/ruthless/frankly unfathomable scoring, and the cusp of Christmas itself.

Bye bye summer, hello spandex. Enjoy!

Strictly Come Dancing Odds 2025

Presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkelman both have been honoured with an MBE. They front a show that's been copied the world over in various guises and has for over 20 years been a ratings sensation at the good old Beeb. In televisual and modern culture terms, Strictly Come Dancing is a very big beast indeed.

It's that time of the year again, when game celebrities sign up for up for about three months-worth of blanket exposure, occasional ridicule, admiration, controversy, and for the chosen few, glory. It's a journey all right (wouldn't feel right without a 'j' word reference in there somewhere).

There were to be 15 celebrities, matched in each case with a professional dancer, but one of the early potential favourites Dani Dyer has had to withdraw after fracturing an ankle in training. Brutal.

Our favourite then as battle is joined is actor Lewis Cope (11/4). He's been an Emmerdale regular, has many stage and screen credits, plus as a mere 11-year-old a stint in the cast of Billy Elliot in the West End. Cue a touch of the old 'he's a dancer!' accusations, customary rebuttals, and general mild hysteria. Lovely.

Understatement alert - Lewis wasn't exactly flogged unmercifully as a child with the ugly stick, and is likely to be very popular in many quarters as a consequence. The likelihood also of competent performance levels or even better make him a worthy market leader in our humble opinion, with at the very least a top-flight panto role at Chrimbo his for the taking.

Reality telly star Vicky Pattison is next up at 9/2. Bubbly personality, funny, self-deprecating, and again likely to be a hit with the viewing public. It's incredibly important to establish a rapport with the fans, and is of course a massive element in determining how far you go in the competition.

Without the support of the public you're dead in the water, and even if the shimmying (is that a word?) isn't top drawer you can go very far indeed in this competition on goodwill.

George Clarke (5/1) is a podcaster, which I doubt was a thing when Strictly first opened its tanning salon over 20 years ago. He's resigned to potentially 'falling over a bit' but has displayed a very sure touch around the social media scene in general. His huge reach will ensure lots of interest and if he can harness that and show a bit of talent he must have bright prospects of going deep.

Ellie Goldstein is an 8/1 chance, a remarkable force of nature, long-time fan of the show and trailblazing actor, model and influencer. The first model with Down syndrome to grace the cover of British Vogue, and inspiration for the launch of a Barbie doll with Down syndrome too. Sure to have legions of admirers.

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is a highly-decorated former Olympic sprinter, also an 8/1 shot, who's found even greater fame as Nitro in Gladiators. He's built like the proverbial brick outhouse and if he says it's Wednesday even if Songs of Praise is on I'm not arguing.

Two 10/1 chances now - and two very fine actresses in Alex Kingston and Balvinder Sopal - noted for roles in the likes of ER, Doctor Who, and Moll Flanders (Alex); and EastEnders, Call The Midwife, and Waterloo Road (Balvinder).

Big shows with huge, loyal followings. If they can dance a bit too they could be mighty contenders indeed.

Former footballer and current pundit Karen Carney is a 14/1 chance, is both an MBE and OBE recipient, and rattled up 144 caps as a Lioness just before they started winning everything bar the Boat Race - and Strictly! She described her call-up as 'a dream come true' and once again there's a huge slice of the public tuned in to women's football and its stars past and present.

We've got a bit of a leap in the betting now. The value shouts, starting with a trio of 25/1 shots - former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink; performer, presenter, singer and RuPaul's Drag Race competitor La Voix; and former Apprentice contestant and TV personality Thomas 'Bosh' Skinner.

I'm thinking they're probably 25s for a reason but with Strictly you just never know.

To finish our runners/riders rundown we've got Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis (33/1), former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw (50/1), and finally perma-tanned Hollywood press-pack 66/1 veteran Ross King ('As my mum always said: 'You’ll never know till you give it a go!')

It would be a major shock if our eventual winner came from this little group but I gave up being surprised at anything that happens in telly contests when Will Young got the better of Gareth Gates before Strictly was even a thing. What a head-scratcher that was.

There you have it. Rather cruelly, we've also got a market for the 1st Elimination, headed by the redoubtable Ross King at 5/2. No-one in this particular race wants to be first but I guess the money's still the same, eh? Every cloud.

Let's wish them all well and remember they've got minerals to spare even taking up the challenge, so huge respect.