X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing Tips

Reality TV takes a lot of criticism from the media and some of it is well justified. After Big Brother everything seemed to be reality TV based. You could argue that some of the biggest music stars today have come from a reality TV background. Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis, Will Young and JLS are all making their careers pay off the back of that coverage and are some of the top selling artists currently. The other big reality show of the moment is Strictly Come Dancing, my guilty pleasure. Their daily update shows during the week hosted by Claudia Winkleman makes you feel like you are part of the show. Here are my betting tips for the shows, even if you would never admit to either watching them or betting on them. For those of you that do want to Bet on Strictly Come Dancing, the odds used are from bwin.com.

Olly Murs has sung well and is apparently receiving advice from Robbie Williams, where reports suggest they are now close friends. This will help his confidence and he looks to have the boy next door look that may help him progress further into the tournament. He also has a good name too, which helps in the music Industry. His odds to win are 3.75, joint favourite with Joe McElderry.

Much talked about in the media because of his personal life and past is Danyl Johnson. He does look like he has “that little something” that reality stars must have to succeed in the real world of music but he found himself in the sing off last week. The public vote numbers kept him in, but with the elimination of the lowest voted for act that leaves Johnson with some catching up to do. He will be keen to put in a good performance but the odds of 6.00 for him to win seem short after last week. He is perhaps a victim of the media putting him on a pedestal as the best singer and the public therefore feel the need to bring him back to Earth.

The value bet at the moment, if you believe the papers, is John and Edward. It is obvious if they do win their career will be short lived due to their basic inability to sing. At 16.00 they are apparently the biggest vote winners so far from the public. This leak is probably deliberate to try and get voters to vote for the other acts to ensure a talented singer or group gets the win. I don’t think they will win, but stranger things have happened. Personally I thought they should have been eliminated well before the live stages, but then I know nothing about singing. Neither, it appears, do they.

Jumping to Strictly Come Dancing it has been an excellent series so far and is still only at the halfway point. We have been treated to the usual walk outs from Brendan Cole; Craig Revel Horwoods cutting judging remarks and the fine efforts of Craig Kelly from Coronation Street who struggles to dance yet tries his best and stays positive. Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe are favourites to win at 2.00, however I always think the most popular character wins (think John Sergeant) so looking for the talented dancer is not always the right move. I think that Ricky Groves, who was loved as Gary in Eastenders for many years, may go far along with Erin Boag, who is a really warm character on the TV and seems a lovely person. Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna are second favourites at 4.00, but people seem more interested in their behind the scenes relationship and Ali does seem to under perform despite having a dancing background. Phil Tufnell has done well, he was anticipated to be the joker of the group but fans are appreciating him taking it seriously and he may go far. His odds are currently 7.00 to win.

All eyes (at least mine) are on Ola Jordan and Chris Hollins. Ola’s outfits are outrageously revealing but at least something can take our eyes from watching Chris dance. I like Chris as a person but he has some catching up to do. If you fancy betting on the outsider Chris will have a lot of popularity from the BBC public who enjoy his reporting and his odds are currently 34.00. But he is a long way from being the best dancer.

My tip to win the X Factor is Olly Murs at 3.75, and whilst I hope Ricky Groves goes on to wins Strictly Come Dancing I will unfortunately back the favourite that Ricky Whittle who will have enough support to bring it home at 2.00. The shows are live each Saturday on terrestrial television. I might watch them. (OK, I’ll definitely watch them.)

By Malcolm Clarke