TV judge Craig Revel Horwood already reckons he knows who will be the Strictly finalists – ahead of the quarter finals.
The 56-year-old choreographer revealed he has been impressed like never before with this year’s partnerships.
But even though there are a few weeks to go in the BBC competition, Craig believes he knows who the real contenders are to win Strictly Come Dancing 2021.
Who does Craig Revel Horwood pick as Strictly finalists?
Craig’s picks might not be all that controversial.
But with five partnerships left, two of the couples might not thank him for overlooking them.
Read more: Strictly star John Whaite battling injury on both hips ahead of quarter-final
Nonetheless, Craig thinks AJ Odudu, Rose Ayling-Ellis and John Whaite (and their pro partners) should vie for the Glitterball Trophy.
He told Hello!: “If I was choosing, that’s who it would be.”
‘We’ve never had dancing like it’
However, Craig also believes the performance quality has been outstanding in 2021.
And because of the competitive spirit that’s been on display, Craig hints anyone could storm into the winners’ position.
They’re all hungry for it.
He continued: “The standard has been so high this year, though – we’ve never had dancing like it. And there’s been no joke act – no Anne Widdecombe, or John Sergeant. It’s been fair and square and tough competition.”
Craig went on: “And the closer they get to the end, the more competitive they’re all becoming. They can see themselves holding that Glitterball – and with that always comes offers for new shows. So there’s a lot at stake really and they’re all hungry for it.”
Will Craig have to backtrack?
In plumping for AJ, Rose and John (and their partners Kai Widdrington, Giovanni Pernice and Johannes Radebe), Craig appears to be writing off the chances of Rhys Stephenson and Dan Walker.
But Craig has had to backtrack before regarding Dan, after Dan exceeded his expectations.
He ripped on Dan and Nadiya Bychkova as he told them their Rumba was “jolty” and had too much ‘stomping’.
Read more: Strictly star Dan Walker bites back at viewers’ ‘fix’ accusations after yet more abuse from trolls
However, Craig still offered them some faint praise, adding: “All that being said, I thought it was a lot better than I had expected.”
He went on to clarify he imagined their effort would be “a complete and absolute disaster”.
So that does mean he can be surprised beyond his initial assumptions!
Craig also selected Rhys and Nancy Xu over Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin in week 10, despite originally scoring both duos a 7.
But will either of those couples displace the three he predicts will make the final show?
Strictly Come Dancing next airs on Saturday December 4 on BBC One at 6.40pm.
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