Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show

Strictly: Matt claims Paul Merson won't get a higher score

Ahead of tonight's first Strictly Come Dancing results show, one famous face has been dealt with a huge blow. According to leading bookmaker Coral, Paul Merson is favourite to be voted off on this weekend's show.

The former footballer and his professional partner Karen Hauer have the highest chances of leaving, with odds of 5-4. Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones are next with 2-1, followed by Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk who have odds of 9-2 to depart.

Meanwhile, on the other end and believed to be safe are Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell with 2-1 odds to win the entire show. Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec are in second place at 5-2, while JB Gill and Amy Dowden are next at 6-1.

Coral's John Hill said: "Paul Merson could be set for a red card from Strictly this weekend as he is the favourite to be the first contestant voted off the show.

"In the outright betting, Chris McCausland's odds have shortened again following a good night. He is now the clear favourite to lift the Glitterball Trophy."

One Strictly Come Dancing star has been dealt with a huge blow (Image: BBC)

This comes after Paul and Karen performed an energetic Salsa routine on Saturday night to the song Fireball by rapper Pitbull.

However, despite giving it his best shot, the scores failed to reflect his enthusiasm and he landed in bottom place on the leaderboard.

Viewers at home were convinced this meant the football manager was going home and flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts.

One person expressed: "Paul Merson will be going home," while someone else couldn't decide whether it would be Paul or Toyah who would be leaving.

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Paul and Karen performed an energetic salsa on Saturday night (Image: BBC) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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They penned: "Very difficult to look past Paul or Toyah leaving first. Was leaning towards Toyah pre-show, but given the scores, comments, and early running order slot I think I've just flipped and lean towards Paul going now."

A third wrote: "Toyah or Paul will go tomorrow. But votes will be needed for some." Despite some negative comments, others long to see more of Paul.

However, one viewer jumped to Paul's defence and quipped: "I feel really sorry for Paul Merson watching Strictly because you can tell he wants to do so much better and be taken more seriously... Strictly better not do him dirty next week."

Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 7:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show

Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show

Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show

Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show

Strictly Come Dancing star dealt huge blow ahead of first exit on BBC show