Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who is the bookies’ favourite to win?

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Huggett, P. (2026, September 26). Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who is the bookies’ favourite to win? Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/strictly-come-dancing-2026-odds-favourite-win-dani-dyer-b1298433.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-26 · by Poppy Huggett

Quick Summary

Dani Dyer is the bookies' early favorite to win Strictly Come Dancing 2026, according to Paddy Power odds released after the launch show. The article also notes that Delta Goodrem and Lacey Turner are next in line with odds of 11/2 and 6/1 respectively. With a peak viewership of 5.8 million, this year's show saw an increase of 200,000 viewers compared to last year’s launch episode. The article highlights the new hosts, professional dancers, and returning judges as key elements for this season’s competition.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-26, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Dani Dyer is the early favorite to win Strictly Come Dancing 2026, according to odds from Paddy Power. The Australian singer Delta Goodrem follows closely at second with odds of 11/2 and 13/2 in different reports, while EastEnders star Lacey Turner is listed third with odds ranging from 6/1 to 7/2. Dani will dance with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, Delta with Kai Widdrington, and Lawrence Robb with Jowita Przystal. The show’s judging panel includes regulars Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke, while new presenters are Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe. Despite no eliminations during the first live show, celebrity scores will contribute to their overall competition standing. The launch episode peaked at 5.8 million viewers on BBC One.

Written for “Strictly Come Dancing Favourites” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Strictly Come Dancing Favourites

Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who is favourite to win? same event · 95%

Evening Standard · 0.96 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 25% hedged 2 of 8 📰 publisher trust 66

“Both articles discuss the same celebrities and their professional dance partners for Strictly Come Dancing 2026, with slightly different odds but referring to the same launch show.”

Strictly Come Dancing couples step onto ballroom floor for first live show different event · 95%

Evening Standard

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 10 📰 publisher trust 66

“Article A discusses the initial launch and betting odds for Strictly Come Dancing 2026, while Article B covers the first live show of the series where the couples perform in front of judges.”

Strictly 2026: Latest updates as celebrities face nerve-wracking first live show different event · 90%

Evening Standard

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 6 📰 publisher trust 66

“The articles describe different stages of Strictly Come Dancing 2026: one is about initial bookies' favorites and pairings, while the other covers the upcoming first live show with celebrity performances.”

Strictly 2026: Who are the couples competing for the Glitterball Trophy? different event · 85%

Evening Standard

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 91 📰 publisher trust 66

“Article A covers the introduction of new couples for Strictly Come Dancing's 24th series, while Article B discusses bookies' favorites and pairings from the launch show.”

Strictly 2026 leaderboard to be revealed as celebrities face the judges for the first time different event · 80%

Evening Standard

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 1 of 7 📰 publisher trust 66

“Article A discusses bookmakers' favorites for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 based on initial pairings and training, while Article B focuses on the first performances in front of judges and the leaderboard reveal.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

17%

2 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Entertainment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 6295 article(s) · 52 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 52 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Poppy Huggett

55 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 55 articles by Poppy Huggett →

Topics

Australian BBC BBC One Delta Paddy Power

Subjects

Dani Dyer PERSON · 2× Delta Goodrem PERSON · 2× Emma Willis PERSON · 2× Johannes Radebe PERSON · 2× Josh Widdicombe PERSON · 2× Lacey Turner PERSON · 2× Australian NORP · 1× Dani PERSON · 1× Nikita Kuzmin PERSON · 1× Paddy Power ORG · 1×

Narrative

Strictly Come Dancing 2026 winner odds - Dani Dyer – 10/3 - Lawrence Robb – 5/1 - Delta Goodrem – 11/2 - Lacey Turner – 6/1 - John Nellis – 8/1 - Will Best – 10/1 - Tabby Stoecker – 10/1 - Cach Mercer – 11/1 - Bethany Antonia – 14/1 - Jaime Winstone – 17/1 - Graeme Hall – 17/1 - Melanie Walters – 25/1 - Dame Sarah Storey – 30/1 - Chris Appleton – 40/1 - Shaun Wright-Phillips – 60/1 The prices are subject to change as the series progresses and are a snapshot of the current betting market.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-26

🔮 Dani will be dancing with Nikita Kuzmin, while Lawrence is partnered with Jowita Przystal and Delta will take to the floor with Kai Widdrington.

2026-09-26 · Evening Standard

Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who is the bookies’ favourite to win? · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 2 hedged)

Dani Dyer has emerged as the early favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing 2026, according to the latest odds from Paddy Power. uncertain

Dyer → emerge → Power

Australian singer Delta Goodrem follows at 11/2, while EastEnders star Lacey Turner is 6/1. asserted

Turner → follow → 11/2

The celebrities were paired with their professional partners during last weekend’s launch show, and have since been putting their dancing skills to the test ahead of their first performances in front of the judges. asserted

celebrities → pair → judges

Dani will be dancing with Nikita Kuzmin, while Lawrence is partnered with Jowita Przystal and Delta will take to the floor with Kai Widdrington. asserted

Delta → dance → Widdrington

This year’s judging panel sees Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke return, while Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe are taking over presenting duties. asserted

Willis → see → duties

There will be no elimination during the first live show, but the celebrities’ scores will count towards the competition as the series gets underway. asserted

series → count → competition

The first live show will also see the hosts, professionals and judges open the show with a group number set to an orchestral version of Joy by Raye. asserted

hosts → see → Raye

A peak of 5.8 million viewers tuned in to the Strictly Come Dancing launch episode on Saturday night which revealed the pairings for the new series. asserted

which → tune → series

According to BBC overnight figures, the episode saw 200,000 more viewers at its peak than last year’s launch show. uncertain

episode → accord → show

The show was also the first for new hosts Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe, who replaced long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who stepped down last year. asserted

who → replace → Daly

series → progress → market

Read More Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, with the celebrities taking to the ballroom for their first scored performances. asserted

celebrities → read → performances

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