Strictly Come Dancing / Alan Dudman / 07 October 2011 /

Jason Donovan has the moves and plenty of support from both the viewers and the Betfair market to go on and win, but is his price too short? Meanwhile, big shot Audley Harrison may be booted off at the first...

'; echo showAtTime($entry_body); ?> This is the glamorous corner of betting.betfair.com. Not only do we deal in feather boas and low-cut tops (Robbie Savage), but we also deal in top notch locations and showbiz glitz. With a focus on the latter, I will be enjoying an 80s weekend in Bognor Regis over the next few days to sample the likes of Musical Youth and Hazel Dean on stage. Does it get any better than that? Now that\'s glamour.

And does it get any better than Jason Donovan? Apparently not, according to a fairly seismic shift on the winner market. The twinkle-toed Aussie danced his way to a decent score of 32 last Saturday, and has been cut in to [2.78] to lift the glitterball. It was a superb first dance, and as cha cha chas go, the feet and the pace were perfect. Judges are normally fairly conservative with their marks in the early part of the series, which means Donovan has to start hitting 9s and 10s quite early.

The former Neighbours star, along with Harry Judd, has obliterated the male or female market, with the men trading at around [1.65] in a slightly illiquid market. It\'s a massive over-reaction to just one dance, and I would look to take on Jason at that price - there will be improvers.

The Aussies are dominating so far, and as a cricket fan, that\'s something I\'ve not managed to say for some time. Holly Valance made a good start with her 28 point cha x 3, and showed some good footwork and technique. She will improve plenty, and will have long run in the competition. She also has the best choreographer in Artem - who won it with Kara in 2010. She trades at [7.00] and I am fairly happy with her ante-post.

But why does Holly speak so s-l-o-w-l-y?

On to the other stars from the first show. Lulu has gone out to [75.00] and danced appallingly to \'I got the music in me\'. She definitely had something in her, although it wasn\'t music. Project Lulu over.

What about Russell Grant? His dance was even camper than Danny La Rue on stage with Shirley Bassey at the London Palladium. Grant came out of a giant pink oyster to start his routine. He enjoyed it though, so did I. He is the John Sargeant with more moves this year, and is now [34.00] to win it.

Round two sets a problem, and will sort out the wheat from the chaff. The foxtrot and the salsa are the routines, with the former the ballroom discipline that requires smooth lines and turns, with grace and elegance. The salsa is the tougher of the two and needs lots of rhythm and sexiness - and luckily for us - it\'s Audley\'s dance!

The celebrities will carry over last week\'s points to this Saturday, ready for our first elimination of the series.

The lowest scorer from the opening dance was Nancy, with a pitiful 12 points. She is hot favourite for the chop, having been backed in to [2.86] after an awful first week. Viewers may decide to keep this non-entity in, just to satisfy their masochistic streak. It\'s happened before in reality TV, and I am sure it will happen again.

She\'s dominated the headlines all week, with reports of rows, tantrums, tan-gate and water-gate. And it will be fun the longer she is in, and it keeps Strictly in the papers.

I flagged up Audley last week for elimination, and I am delighted he has the tough salsa on Saturday. He was flattered by the waltz in week one, it\'s an easy dance. His grace surprised me though, but a boast of \'I\'m the biggest celebrity on this programme\' on the show recently will be remembered by the voters for all the wrong reasons.

Despite the hoopla around Dell \'Ollio, the boxer has barely budged in the elimination market. The wise move could be to lay-to-back Harrison In-Play, with a saver on Nancy. Otherwise let\'s be brave and ride with the big guy (Harrison that is, not Nance).

Edwina, Lulu and Robbie won\'t be lasting long. They are plays later in the coming weeks, but don\'t be surprised if one pops up in the bottom two, as they are set for scores in the region of 15-18.

Elimination market: Already advised Audley @ [3.05]
Lay Jason Donovan in winner market @ [2.86]

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