Risk for Balvinder Sopal as Bookies Predict Elimination on Strictly

Balvinder Sopal could be the next Strictly Come Dancing contestant to get the chop as she faces the ‘highest chance to be eliminated’ from the dancing show.

The EastEnders actress, 46, who is paired with pro dancer Julian Caillon, currently has 2/7 odds after receiving the lowest scores for the past two weeks.

The BBC star also landed in the bottom two fours times – more than any other contestant this season.

She is followed by actress Alex Kingston, who faces odds of 6/1 to get eliminated next.

On the other end of the spectrum, YouTuber George Clarke has the highest odds to win with odds of 11/10.

Second place goes to former England footballer Karen Carney with a 15/8 odds of winning. 

A spokesperson for MyBettingSites.co.uk commented: ‘While Lewis Cope has consistently impressed the judges – including earning a full house in Blackpool – viewers often gravitate toward contestants who show clear growth. 

‘That progression has been especially visible in George Clarke and Karen Carney, both of whom have raised their game week after week. 

‘Thanks to George’s substantial online following, he currently holds the edge to win with odds of 11/10, with Karen and Lewis sitting in second and third place, respectively.’

They continued: ‘On the other hand, Balvinder Sopal faces the highest risk of elimination. 

‘She has landed in the bottom two four times – more than any other contestant this season – and has received the lowest scores across the past two weeks; her odds of elimination are currently 2/7.’ 

The odds update comes as contestant Karen Carney, 38, has revealed she contemplated suicide as a result of sexist football trolls as she opened up about self-harming and becoming addicted to sleeping pills during her career. 

The Strictly star played as a winger and midfielder during her professional football career – during which she made 144 appearances for England. 

However despite her success as a footballer, and later a pundit for the likes of TNT Sports and Sky Sports, Karen experienced some very low points. 

The first was after she moved to the US to play for the Chicago Red Stars in 2009 when a knee operation meant she couldn’t play and she plunged into a depression. 

Living in the US but unable to play, Karen told The Guardian she began self-harming and later became addicted to sleeping pills. 

She later retired as a player in 2019 and became a pundit, but received abuse from online trolls – which is far too common for female pundits – got so bad she started having suicidal thoughts. 

After signing for Chicago Red Stars in 2009, Karen was forced to have a knee operation and she couldn’t play for the team.

Karen soon started suffering from depression, began self harming and became addicted to sleeping pills. 

‘I was in a pretty bad way, I think that has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to overcome,’ she said. 

She left the US early, a year before her contract was up, after her former Arsenal coach Emma Hayes urged her to come back to the UK. 

Karen said: ‘I came back purely to … save my life, pretty much.

‘They were, like, “We know you’re not in a good place, but we will do our best to take care of you.”‘

After returning to the UK, Karen took a break from football to focus on getting back and she credits her friends for getting her through the tough time. 

She finished her career out on a high and re-joined Birmingham City club before playing for Chelsea and retiring in 2019.