The current edition of Strictly Come Dancing is the 19th to date and after the first eight shows it already promises to be a classic series with plenty of surprises. Which dancer was the latest to leave the show and who is now the favourite to go on and win it?

Who Will the Winner Be?

At the time of writing, the latest Strictly 2021 odds point to EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis being the favourite to win the series. You can also bet on markets such as who will be eliminated on the next show, meaning that you don’t need to look too far into the future with your predictions if you aren’t yet sure of the winner.

Ayling-Ellis is the first deaf dancer to ever feature on Strictly, and she is performing alongside pro Giovanni Pernice. They scored animpressive 39 on the eighth show and had earlier picked up a perfect 40 on the Halloween special.

Another name high on the list of the 2021 strictly come dancing odds at 40/1 is Rhys Stephenson, who impressed the judges with a Charleston that earned him 40 points in the last show. He dances with Nancy Xu, and the CBBC presenter looks likely to challenge all the way to the final.

The rest of the field shouldn’t be written off yet, though. Popular personalities such as presenter AJ Odudu, baker John Whaite and music star Tom Fletcher all have the chance to surprise us and win the trophy.

The Latest Dancer to Leave

Week eight saw Sara Davies eliminated, after she and professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec danced an Argentine Tango that failed to meet the show’s high standards. The couple ended up in the bottom two with Tilly Ramsay and her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, who had carried out a Quickstep routine.

However, it was the former Dragon’s Den star who was eliminated after the voting. Davies later said on social media that she “wasn’t quite ready” to leave the show, and also called it a life-changing experience.

This exit followed on from the departure of swimmer Adam Peaty and Katya Jones in week seven. Peaty later pointed out that he was hurt by the elimination, but that his ankles and calves were struggling to cope with the intense training routine.

In total, seven celebrity dancers have been eliminated during this series, with Robert Webb leaving for medical reasons. This means that there are just seven couples left with a chance of winning the competition.

A Look Ahead to Week Nine

The next show will have a musicals theme, with songs from some of the most popular musicals of all time to be featured. Following her brush with elimination in the last show, we would expect Tilly Ramsay to be among the favourites to leave the show, but maybe she will pull off a great performance to record her first 40 score.

The unpredictability of this dancing contest is one of its most charming aspects, and fans will be expecting a few more twists along the way to finding out who this year’s overall winner is.