Yahoo News Who will win the Strictly 2024 final? Latest odds
Chris McCausland, JB Gill, Sarah Hadland and Tasha Ghouri are competing to lift the Glitterball Trophy this weekend.
It's Strictly Come Dancing's grand final week and the 2024 finalists are all hitting the training room hard in a bid to lift the season 22 Glitterball Trophy.
As Strictly fans know, the judges' scores have no bearing on the results in the final and are just there for guidance, with the champions fully decided by the public vote.
Who are the current favourites to win? We look at the bookies' odds and the contestants' journeys so far.
Strictly 2024 winner's odds
The bookies are offering slightly different odds for the outright series winner, but they are all in agreement about what the finalists' placement will be.
At William Hill, they are offering:
Chris McCausland - 1/12
JB Gill - 12/1
Sarah Hadland - 16/1
Tasha Ghouri - 16/1
Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “You have to go back to the beginning of October to find the last time Chris McCausland wasn’t odds-on to win this series of Strictly Come Dancing and since then the comedian has only strengthened his grip on the Glitterball Trophy.
“Having been priced at 1/4 before last weekend’s semi-final, McCausland has since shortened into 1/9 and now his current price of 1/12. Those odds suggest that the other three contestants have it all to do, with JB Gill his closest challenger in the market at 12/1, while Sarah Hadland and Tasha Ghouri are both priced at 16/1.”
The odds at BetMGM are:
Chris McCausland - 1/18
JB Gill - 10/1
Sarah Hadland - 18/1
Tasha Ghouri - 25/1
UK director at BetMGM, Sam Behar, said: "He may have got the fewest points from the judges in the semi-finals but the betting suggests Chris McCausland is virtually nailed on to win this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
"The comedian is just 1/18 to take home the Glitterball Trophy ahead of this weekend's final with JB Gill 10/1, Sarah Hadland 18/1 and Tasha Ghouri the perhaps surprising outsider at 25/1."
Over at Ladbrokes, you'll get:
Chris McCausland - 1/20
JB Gill - 14/1
Sarah Hadland - 25/1
Tasha Ghouri - 33/1
Harvey Watkins of Ladbrokes said: "We're now at the the business end of this year's Strictly, and the latest odds suggest the Glitterball Trophy is now very much Chris' to lose."
Strictly Come Dancing 2024's finalist journeys
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell
Comedian Chris McCausland and his pro partner Dianne Buswell are one of two couples in the final never to have faced a dance off yet, proving they have the backing of the public.
They had the lowest score of the four finalists after the semi-final, coming in at a combined total of 69 points for their two routines.
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But as the show's first blind contestant, McCausland has astonished viewers with his musicality and timing, as has Buswell with her inventive techniques for teaching him dances.
He is also the only celebrity in the final not to have had any previous dance experience, and has long been touted as the fan favourite with the bookies now in agreement that he looks like a sure bet to win.
JB Gill and Lauren Oakley
JLS singer JB Gill is McCausland's closest rival, bringing with him the sort of Strictly journey that viewers appreciate in a contestant.
Although Gill faced some controversy to begin with — he has previous dance experience from his pop career, he won the 2012 Strictly Christmas special and his wife is a professional dancer who has been helping to coach him — the singer has won the viewers over.
He managed to claw his way back from the dance off in week five, but was then hit by the devastating news that original partner Amy Dowden, who was in her comeback series after cancer treatment, would have to quit with an injury. Gill has had the extra challenge of getting used to new partner Lauren Oakley, but the pair have gone on to huge success.
In the semi-final they got the highest combined score of 79 points, including a 40-pointer, but can they compete with McCausland's incredible popularity?
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola
The only other finalists not to have faced a dance off yet are Miranda star Sarah Hadland and her partner Vito Coppola, who have racked up some consistently high scores.
According to the bookies, the pair are pretty firmly in third place for the final but they have been strong competitors throughout, with Coppola praising Hadland's worth ethic, so they could well pull something special out of the bag for the final.
Viewers might have felt they have gone under the radar against some of the other couples who have had more headline-grabbing journeys in the series, and as Coppola is the reigning champion with 2023's Ellie Leach, it's unusual for a pro to win two years in a row.
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec
Although many fans acknowledge that Love Islander Tasha Ghouri is by far the best celebrity dancer in the series, her talents have gone against her as she has faced much criticism for having worked as a professional dancer — albeit in a different style.
Her partner Aljaž Škorjanec is hugely popular with viewers and made a welcome comeback after retiring from the cast a couple of years ago, as a last-minute stand in for Graziano Di Prima.
The pair earned the first 40 of the series and added to their top scores with another 40 in the semi-finals, putting them second to Gill and Oakley on points last week. Meanwhile, Ghouri has also overcome the challenges of being a deaf contestant, including finding the musical timing in quieter songs.
But Ghouri's dance background has clearly started to bother the viewers as they found themselves in the dance off for the last two weeks and the bookies are in agreement that they are least likely to win.
Ola Jordan's expert view on who could win Strictly 2024
The final might be down to the public vote, but former Strictly pro Ola Jordan knows a thing or two about what makes a winner and she's been sharing her expertise with Mecca Bingo.
Jordan said she thought it was unfair that Ghouri has faced so much criticism for her dance experience, explaining: "She is the best dancer but she’s not getting the public vote. Her dance background might be going against her, but it depends on what people like at that time and what dance she's going to do."
She added: "We've got to remember that Sarah and JB have had some kind of dance training as well, so it's important to say that it's not only Tasha who has some previous experience. Let's not forget that and let's not pick on Tasha only, it's not fair."
On whether McCausland could win, Jordan — who won the 2009 series with BBC sports reporter Chris Hollins — said: "It's hard. I don't know if (McCausland) has it. If someone comes out there like JB and does an amazing performance. But if people love Chris and if he has so much support, he might win. If he wins, he was doing such an amazing job for the whole thing. It’s anyone's game now, really."
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 final airs on BBC One at 6pm on Saturday.
