Strictly Come Dancing star dealt major blow just days before live show

One of the remaining celebrities on Strictly Come Dancing has been dealt a huge blow ahead of Halloween Week on November 1. EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal has topped the elimination betting with odds of just 4/5 to be the latest star to leave BBC the show. The Suki Panesar actress and her pro partner Julian Caillon have found themselves in the dreaded dance off on two occasions already, and the odds predict they will once again have to face the judges for a second time this week.

Coming in behind her is Drag Race icon La Voix at 2/1. She and her partner Alja Škorjanec have previously found themselves in the dreaded dance-off on one occasion. Meanwhile, Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is 6/1 to leave this week. He is paired with Karen Hauer, and they haven't yet found themselves in the bottom two, but according to the odds, this might be their unlucky week.

According to John Hill from Coral Bookmakers: "It looks set to be a spooky Halloween weekend for Balvinder Sopal on Strictly as she is the odds-on favourite to be vanished following the dance-off."

At the other end of the betting spectrum, YouTuber George Clarke is currently the odds-on favourite to lift the glitterball at 10-11. Former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and Doctor Who's Alex Kingston are joint second to win at 4-1.

I'm A Celebrity winner Vicky Pattison comes in fourth at 8/1. Model and actor Ellie Goldstein has odds of 16/1. Footballer-turned-pundit Karen Carney is currently at 20/1. Despite claims that her West End background gives her an advantage, musical theatre star Amber Davies is at 28/1 to win.

Given the odds for their departure, it is unsurprising Harry La Voix and Balvinder make up the bottom three with winning odds. Harry is at 50/1, La Voix is at 66/1 while Balvinder is at 100/1.

Balvinder and Julian are set to dance the Rumba to Stay by Shakespears Sister on Saturday, November 1. She has previously confessed to Express.co.uk that she finds appearing on the show "exposing and vulnerable". She told us: "I wasn't prepared for it...I think it's such an exposing and vulnerable place to be.

"I know people say you're an actor, then you can put on the acting...which is grand, and I can do. But if I don't know what I'm doing holistically...the character isn't really going to come, so it has to essentially be me. And also, there's not enough time to find characters because you're just about learning the dance moves or the steps," she said.

"So it's very scary putting myself out there because you throw yourself into an arena of judgment and criticism and projection. But the one thing I have to keep coming back to is that I wanted to do this. It was a dream of mine. I've wanted to do it for years. A little bit of criticism or social media or whatever isn't going to get in the way of trying to have a good time.

"I've got a brilliant partner. I'm in an amazing building with such brilliant people like, and then we get to dance on that amazing floor that everybody recognises. "So why wouldn't I want to soak it up? Why wouldn't I want to just enjoy it? Yes, sure, it's exposing. It's scary, but that's what it's about, isn't it? You learn so much about yourself," she said.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays from 6.20pm on BBC One or catch up on BBC iPlayer.