Strictly Come Dancing: Judd favourite but Jones looks lively

Strictly Come Dancing / Alan Dudman / 24 November 2011 / 1

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Could One Show presenter Alex Jones be the one?

"Alex Jones is really improving fast, and could be doing 'a Chris Hollins', who was also a BBC employee, who also had the Charleston at a crucial stage."

The McFly man is a serious dancer and a deserved favourite in the Strictly odds, says Alan Dudman, but Alex Jones is improving rapidly and could be this year's dark horse...

Russell Grant has gone. The old 'enter ballroom via the cannonball trick' failed to work, although his exit was somewhat surprising considering his popularity on the show. His dancing didn't warrant his duration for that long however, but his bizarre routines did. The astrologer will be missed, as will those gold suits.

Talking of astrology, a phrase which is vastly underrated, my Virgo horoscope has predicted some exciting happenings. Old relationships will be transformed or even ended (apparently), and a partner has a mesmerising impact on you (you being me). This is exciting. Perhaps it's my first ever love, or my second, or my third?

But back to Strictly. The semi-finals are looming, and the standard is reaching high levels. The late stage of the competition now poses some serious questions. Can Robbie stay in? Can Holly go the extra yard? Will Brian May cut his hair? And will Dahen wve Arch (he in charge of the orchestra) change that dark shirt and tie combination?

Whilst one McFly has done virtually nothing on ITV1 (see our IACGMOOH blog), the other member of this musical powerhouse is going great guns, which makes Harry Judd the mesmerising partner that perhaps the stars were alluding to?

Judd can dance, and the market knows it. His salsa was a good one last week, and his scores recently have been 34, 37, 34, 35. However, having watched this week's training, his quickstep could be absolutely sublime. The drummer lacked a bit of hip action in the Latin, but his ballroom is magical. The video this week showed a breathtaking series of moves, all very fast and smooth. I haven't seen a session like that for a long time, and the rumours are this will be special. The top scorer prices are on the case though, with Judd trading at [1.6] for this Saturday - the shortest we have seen for the series.

The McFly man is [1.63] for top male, and [2.28] favourite to win it and will make the final easily.

Chelsee Healey meanwhile is a little cracker, whom I absolutely love. So do the backers incidentally - who make her [4.4] for the glitterball. Her 35 point samba last weekend was dazzling, as she pulled off the intro by herself. It shows
her ability at this stage, as the acid test for the celebs is to go solo. She faces the Argentine tango this weekend, a dance that is best for women. The legs are important here, and Anita got a 33 for this routine. Chelsee is miles better than Dobbo.

Jason Donovan was lucky to get 34 points seven days ago as he made two errors, whilst Alex Joneswas the surprise package with a joint top score (with Chelsee) for her tango. The Welsh lass is the dark horse, and both these have the fun Charleston routine - which always gets decent scores.

The One Show presenter is really improving fast, and could be doing 'a Chris Hollins', who was also a BBC employee and who also had the Charleston at a crucial stage (and it was the boogie that sealed his rise to the top).

Anita won't have regular partner Robin, and renta-pro Brendan steps in for a cha cha cha - a routine he netted a perfect 40 with Lisa Snowden a few series' ago. Snowden was George Clooney's ex by the way, for those unaware. And look out for Holly's foxtrot, she'll like that ballroom one.

There will also be a swingathon competition, and I loathe swing as much as Halloween. However, it might give us the first opportunity to get at Robbie Savage. He has an army of twitter followers, but they won't be able to save him in the group routine - which is last man standing. He won't last long in that, and he tackles the samba in his other dance, the hardest Latin. As we all know, he is a ballroom boy (as well as an average midfielder).

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Carole White | 25 November 2011

Why say this about Anita Dobson, 'Is it the Ender for Dobson? Anita is a fantastic dancer,besides, we need Anita to win, for someone her age she has so much energy, enthusiasm, charisma and brings that dance floor alive as soon as her and Robin (albeit Brendan this week)also there has never been any of the celeb dancers to win in the whole of the 9 series of Strictly Come Dancing before, and Anita is a wonderful example that it can be done for anyone over 60 to take up dancing a7nd keep fit, loose weight etc. SO YES WE NEED TO KEEP ANITA DOBSON IN. Come on Team Dobbin.