Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola could win Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: PA)
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola could be lifting the glitterball trophy on Saturday night as they share something pretty big in common with a whopping 75% of previous Strictly Come Dancing winners.
The odds are well within their favour for success, as three in four winning couples over the last 20 series have never had to face the dreaded dance-off. Those of you who’ve been paying attention on Sunday nights will know that Ellie, 22, and Vito, 31, have also never found themselves under the red spotlight.
They are the only final pair who’ve never had to perform a routine twice in order to make it to through to the next week of the competition. Instead their judges’ score combined with the public votes has been enough to ensure they’ve never had to put their dancing shoes back on for round two.
Whereas their fellow finalists Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin were forced into a dance battle to remain the competition in week 10, while Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell have fought for their place twice in both week 9 and the recent semi-finals.
For the most recent six series, the winning couples have all been part of this elusive no dance-off to winners narrative.
Joe McFadden and Katya Jones, Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton, Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, as well as Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał have together kept the streak going and Ellie and Vito will be hoping to continue it.
Bobby has faced the dance-off twice (Picture: PA)
Layton and Nikita faced the dance-off in week ten (Picture: PA)
Of course there are exceptions to every rule so Layton, 29, and Nikita, 26, and Bobby, 20, and Dianne, 34, don’t need to lose all hope.
They can instead look to Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Škorjanec, as well as Ore Odube and Joanne Clifton for inspiration who both fought back from a dance-off and later won the ultimate prize.
Strictly Come Dancing winners
SERIES 1 – Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole. Dance-off
SERIES 2 – Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett. No dance-off
SERIES 3 – Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova. No dance-off
SERIES 4 – Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy. No dance-off
SERIES 5 – Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler. Dance-off
SERIES 6 – Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup. No dance-off
SERIES 7 – Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan. No dance-off
SERIES 8 – Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev. No dance-off
SERIES 9 – Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani. No dance-off
SERIES 10 – Louis Smith and Flavia. No dance-off
SERIES 11 – Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Škorjanec. Dance-off
SERIES 12 – Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev. Dance-off
SERIES 13 – Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani. No dance-off
SERIES 14 – Ore Odube and Joanne Clifton. Dance-off
SERIES 15 – Joe McFadden and Katya Jones. No dance-off
SERIES 16 – Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton. No dance-off
SERIES 17 – Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse. No dance-off
SERIES 18 – Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse. No dance-off
SERIES 19 – Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice. No dance-off
SERIES 20 – Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał. No dance-off
Betting group Coral have shared that Ellie is at odds of 1-10 for success on Saturday, which makes her the shortest priced Strictly Come Dancing finalist in history.
Layton Williams is the 8-1 second favourite with the firm, while Bobby Brazier can be backed at 12-1.
One thing is for sure, the remaining couples have their work cut out as they will be performing three dances each during the grand finale.
All of the pairs get to showcase their skills in a show dance, which has no rules holding them back. Ellie and Vito will be tackling a Jenifer Lopez megamix, Layton and Nikita will be bringing the vibes with Ne-Yo’s Friend Like Me, while Bobby and Dianne are doing a homage to La La Land.
They’ve also each picked their favourite routine, and the judges have also chosen one that they’d like to see again.
Amanda won’t be back on Strictly (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
As well as the nine special performances, viewers will also be treated to a group routine which will see the whole cast return to the dance floor one last time.
However, Amanda Abbington who withdraw from the competition after four routines, for ‘personal reasons’ won’t be back.
‘Amanda decided to withdraw from the competition, therefore she will not be returning for the final,’ a BBC spokesperson told Metro.co.uk.
The Strictly Come Dancing final airs Saturday at 7pm on BBC One
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The odds are in their favour.