Gorka Marquez dealt huge BBC Strictly blow despite avoiding first dance-off: ‘Far behind her peers’
Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Marquez could be the next professional to be booted from the competition as partner Punam Krishnan is given odds of being the next to be sent home.
On Sunday night, Nadiya Bychkova and Tom Dean were the first pairing to be sent home from the competition – sparking outrage from the viewers who claimed the results had been fixed, leaving Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones to dance for another week.
This weekend, the celebrities will be taking on Movie Week and given another chance to impress the judges, however, it could be the end for the TV doctor.
During Saturday night’s show, Krishan and Márquez performed the Foxtrot to Man! I Feel Like A Woman! by Shania Twain and received a total score of 18 from the judges.
Despite the couple making it through, they may not be there after the upcoming weekend as bookmakers Betfred have given Krishan odds of 2/1 of being eliminated from the competition.
She shares the same odds as Willcox who faced the dance-off this weekend and will need to pull out all the stops for Movie Week to be in with a chance of making it through to week five.
Betfred’s Kayley Cornelius revealed: “After narrowly escaping the dance-off, Toyah Willcox is once again betting market favourite to be next eliminated, priced at 1/2.
“While her timing saved her and means she’s allowed to dance another week, she still sits in a worrying place as she’s situated at the bottom of the leaderboard and has a long way to go.
“It’s clear she’s far behind her peers in terms of skill, so she’ll need to make a major turnaround by next Sunday if she wants to stay competitive.”
Speaking on Krishan’s hopes, she added: “Dr. Punam Krishan shows great potential, but she’s likely to end up in the dance-off next week, placing her in a concerning position as we approach week three of the competition.
“Punters seem to think her chances of winning are slim, with bets for Punam down by 92 per cent. To overcome her 2/1 odds of elimination, she and her pro-partner Gorka Márquez will need to seriously impress the judges with their Strictly first performance next week. If the risk doesn’t pay off, it could lead them to a one-way ticket home.”
Marquez’s risk of being sent home early could spark yet another fix row after many fans were left furious at the weekend when Bychkova was sent home – leaving her “devastated”.
When asked by Tess Daly how she felt to be the first sent home, she said: “To get to know him, he’s not just a three-time Olympic champion he’s a true gentleman and he taught me how to work really hard and how to put everything in.
“And you know what? On this programme, sometimes to win, you don’t need to win, and that’s how I feel this year.”
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Viewers of the show were left outraged at the outcome and took to their X accounts where they claimed the results had been fixed, as one annoyed viewer penned: “Already started ‘fixing’ the show then. Tom was far from the worst dancer. #StrictlyComeDancing.”
“TOM DOES NOT DESERVE THIS #StrictlyComeDancing,” another penned before a third added: “Are the mental? Do they need help judging because what the f**k was that decision?”
Someone else penned: “Gutted for Tom. He really didn’t deserve to be first voted off. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing”
“Nah, saving Toyah is completely wrong, not because she’s annoying but because she can’t dance,” a fifth fumed.
A sixth quipped: “Unfortunately Toyah will never improve to be a dancer, Tom would have done much better moving forward. Wrong decision.”