Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks dealt crushing blow hours before live show

Former TOWIE star Pete Wicks has been winning over Strictly Come Dancing viewers alongside professional dance partner Jowita Przystał

He's become a fan favourite since Strictly Come Dancing's 20th anniversary series burst onto our TV screens last month but now Pete Wicks has been dealt a blow ahead of the latest live show.

Despite achieving his highest score of the series last weekend with 26 out of 40 points from the judges after his Movie Week samba to the George Of The Jungle theme, bookies have placed Pete and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystał as one of the favourites to leave the show this weekend.

While football legend Paul Merson and TV presenter Nick Knowles look set to go head-to-head in the dance off - if the DIY SOS host does indeed dance following his injury - Pete is far from safe.

The bookies now make Paul - who was saved from last weekend's dance off against Toyah Willcox - odds-on at 8/11 to finally be sent packing, while Nick has odds of 6/4 for the boot this weekend, according to Ladbrokes.

Elsewhere, Pete - who was once a firm frontrunner for the Glitterball Trophy - is 5/1 to be eliminated from the competition on Sunday, with every other name being 14/1 or bigger.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "The race for the Glitterball Trophy is well and truly on, but Paul Merson and Nick Knowles will do well to make it past Week Four, if the latest odds are anything to go by."

Meanwhile, when it comes to odds on winning Strictly, former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri is still up there at 3/1 but, according to Ladbrokes, Chris McCausland is now the overall favourite to win at 10/11.

The comedian, who is blind, and his dance partner Dianne Buswell, have been winning over both judges and viewers with their impressive performances.

Last week, their jive to the Wayne's World theme was lavished with praise, particularly from the usually hard-nosed judge Craig Revel Horwood who said the routine was "packed full of fantastic rhythm" resulting in an impressive collective score of 30 from the judges. Craig also notably told Chris: "You can dance."

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday and is on BBC iPlayer