Fleur East has been hit with a Strictly Come Dancing blow as she leapt to the defence of Shirley Ballas, as bookies suggest her chances of winning are 'fading,' due to her scores not being as high as expected and her falling into the bottom two last week.
Fleur was the early favourite to win in the eyes of experts, as soon as her name appeared on the Strictly line-up, with many fans also earmarking her as the one to beat. However, those expectations haven't been borne out in the live shows, as Fleur has yet to trouble the top of the leaderboard and has received some rather lukewarm comments from the judges. Head judge Shirley came under fire from some viewers last week, with them accusing the former dance world champion of being 'sexist,' after she declared that she would have kept axed contestant Richie Anderson in ahead of her.
Shirley has opened up about some of the disgusting abuse she's had on social media, since last week's results show aired, claiming during an appearance on Loose Women that some of the language in the messages was 'too explicit' to share. Former X Factor finalist has backed Shirley. Speaking on It Takes Two, the Sax singer said: "Oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it. There’s a lot of heat in the cha cha chat room. And I think it’s really unfair, actually."
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While Fleur appears to have the support of many fans, bookmakers think her chances of winning Strictly are dwindling fast, with them now tumbling to 20/1 with William Hill, while Will Mellor remains favourite on 5/2.
Speaking on the recent market shifts, Tony Kenny, Head of Sponsorship PR at William Hill, said: “Fleur is definitely struggling to make a good impression, especially with head judge Shirley. Maybe week four will be her week, but her chances are slimming.
“Shirley is normally fairly positive when it comes to providing feedback - although there is speculation that she’s easier on male competitors. Let’s hope Fleur lasts long enough to turn the tide and win Shirley round!”
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