Who Will Dance off With Novelty Love Island and BAFTA Prizes?
A new year means a new batch of televised novelty/game show programming. The BBC has revived Gladiators, which surprised many by attracting over eight million viewers for its first episode. It will run weekly for the first three months of 2024. The same broadcaster enjoyed a six million average for The Traitors, aired throughout January as a 12-part series.
Whereas the BBC programs are pre-recorded, ITV allows armchair viewers to get involved with its current reality TV productions, Dancing On Ice and Love Island: All-Stars. The ongoing shows are primarily broadcast live, meaning results are related to viewer votes, and online betting sites have betting markets open for business.
Ryan Thomas and professional skate partner Amani Fancy have plenty going for them in Dancing On Ice 2024. ©Getty
Dancing On Ice, now in its 16th season, traditionally falls to the most polished celebrity performer. Recent winners Nile Wilson, Regan Gascoigne, James Jordan, and Jake Quickenden were all odds-on favorites a month before the final show was broadcast.
Six in With Shout on Ice
2024 could be a different story. Ricky Hatton and Hannah Spearritt have already been shown the exit. Claire Sweeney, Ricky Norwood, and Roxy Shahidi appear to be deadwood and will surely slip and slide out of contention in the coming weeks.
But, at the top of the betting, this year’s Dancing on Ice looks more competitive than ever before. Six celebrity skaters, four men and two women, are priced under 8/1. Coronation Street Star – and former Celebrity Big Brother winner – Ryan Thomas marginally tops the odds lists found at the novelty betting sites.
Latest Dancing On Ice Betting
- 11/4 Ryan Thomas
- 3/1 Eddie Edwards
- 4/1 Adele Roberts
- 9/2 Miles Nazaire
- 6/1 Greg Rutherford
- 8/1 Amber Davies
- 25/1 Lou Sanders
- 50/1 Roxy Shahidi
- 66/1 Claire Sweeney
- 80/1 Ricky Norwood
Male Actor Thomas Not Handicapped by Age
The record books show male contestants have a vastly superior record to their female counterparts. Male skaters have won this show nine times in the past ten years. 2013 scorer Beth Tweddle was the most recent female winner.
Those formbooks also show soap stars and actors have an outstanding record. It is explained by the bulk of entertainers from this genre having dancing experience through time spent at stage school.
Finally, age is an all-important factor. The stats overwhelmingly suggest the 2024 winner will be aged under 40. It is not good reading for fans of Eddie Edwards – the ski jumping legend is 60 – and Adele Roberts, who is 44. With all these facts considered, our Dancing on Ice tip is Ryan Thomas. BetVictor currently quote the best odds on the 39-year-old.
Callum and Georgia are Favored in Love Island
Dancing On Ice contestant Amber Davies earned her celebrity status as the winner of Love Island in 2017. Her villa-mate in the third season of the dating game show, Georgia Harrison, currently tops the Love Island: All Stars betting.
As Cosmopolitan recently pointed out: “Dating shows became our sport and religion, with over 3.6 million viewers tuning into the Love Island season five finale. Now it seems we’re all wanting to break up from dating shows.”
Indeed, Love Island viewing figures are tumbling as there is a ‘same old, same old’ stale feel to the show. Nevertheless, novelty bookmaking sites such as William Hill still offer winning couple, top-male, and top-female betting markets on the show.
The firm makes Callum Jones – currently coupled with Georgia Harrison – its 3/1 favorite in the top male betting. Anton Danyluk (7/2) and Toby Aromolaran (9/2) complete the top three spots on the list.
Huller Best as Critics Cold About Stone
Novelty betting sites have February’s BAFTA’s (British Academy Film Awards) to fill a void before Celebrity Big Brother begins in March. Oppenheimer is long odds-on in three categories: Best Film (1/6), Best Actor (1/5) and Best Director (1/12).
BAFTA betting is not entirely sterile, and there could be some value in the Best Actress market where Oppenheimer is not represented. Shockingly, Lily Gladstone, star of Killer of the Flower Moon, is missing from the list of nominations in this category.
Gladstone is odds-on to win the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards with some novelty betting sites. Whatever the reason for BAFTA turning their back on her, the absence allows for a head-to-head battle between Emma Stone (for her role in Poor Things) and Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall).
Stone is 1/2 to collect the BAFTA, but the value surely lies with Huller. The German actress, available on 6/4, has already collected a hatful of awards for her role in the Palme d’Or winning Anatomy of a Fall. Vitally, contributors to the plethora of US-centric movie review sites suggest there is very little between the pair, making the bigger-priced contender the obvious play.
