Strictly Come Dancing viewers think comedian Bill Bailey could well be this year’s ‘dark horse’.
The 55-year-old has teamed up with last year’s winner, Strictly pro Oti Mabuse. She won the 2019 series alongside former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher.
Read more: Which professional dancer has won Strictly the most times?
At first glance, it might not seem like Bill would be in the running to be one of the show’s better stars. But it turns out that he’s not only caught the attention of head judge Shirley Ballas, but fans too.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood awarded him just three points, but both Shirley and Motsi Mabuse awarded sixes.
They’ve taken to Twitter to voice their predictions for this year’s show.
I still think Bill is the dark horse #Strictly
— Alexis (she/her) (@MissLexisaurus) October 24, 2020
Either BILL is a dark horse or Oti is a miracle worker well done son #Strictly
— Julian Hilaire🇬🇧 (@julianhilaire) October 24, 2020
I cant wait to see bill bailey definitely dark horse in this years competition #strictly
— Laura B (@laurabarr38) October 24, 2020
Catching up with #Strictly. I think Bill Bailey could be a dark horse – he’s quite nimble!
— Mhairi LedgerwOOOOOOOOOD 👻🎃 (@meledgerwood) October 18, 2020
The funnyman is a firm believer in taking on new challenges.
“I’m always looking at new things,” he said.
He has also admitted that he has a more personal reason for joining the glittering line-up – explaining that his late mother, Madrin, would have been so excited about his appearance on the show.
And unlike some of this year’s contestants, Bill says he doesn’t have any dance experience at all.
Read more: Bookies predict Jacqui Smith will be first to go
Does Bill have experience?
Speaking to Zoe Ball in a recent interview, the stand-up comic said: “I haven’t been to stage school, haven’t lived for the dance as some may have done.
“I’m not Lord of the Dance. More sort of Caretaker of the Dance, [it’s] going to be quite a challenge… That’s what this is all about!”
Shirley Ballas refutes critics who have suggested Bill is a ‘novelty’ act.
In an interview with The Sun, Shirley said: “I turned to Craig [Revel Horwood] and said, ‘he’s going to be our Ed Balls. The series is going to be a lot of fun’. And then he danced.
“He was rotating his hips, he was giving it some stick. And I thought: ‘Oh my Lord, he is not only funny, he’s going to really give this a go’. I wasn’t expecting that.”
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