Struggling Strictly star 'is being protected by judges from bottom two', says pro

Strictly Come Dancing winner Ola Jordan has given her verdict over who is in danger of elimination this week - and who is protected and likely to stay safe.

The former pro, whose husband James Jordan has also excelled on the show, believes that Dr Punam and Pete Wicks are the two celebrities with the least chance of surviving this week. However, she thinks a twist of fate will intervene and that a "good" dancer is likely to find themselves in the bottom two instead.

"I think Punam and Pete are the weakest links in the competition – they’re the two worst dancers, I would say," she declared. "They both have ballroom numbers, so they’ll probably be okay."

Then she suggested: "I think someone good will be in the bottom two this week, possibly Shayne again. Even though I always thought Shayne would be good, I don’t think he’s that great and he’s got Paso Doble this week so he might be in the bottom two.

"Then you’ve got people like Sam, but I think Sam is still going to hang on.” While Pete might be faltering at this stage alongside pro partner Jowitz Prysztal, Ola suggested that his huge popularity might save him from being ousted this time around.

“With Punam and Pete being the weakest dancers, I think Pete has more of a following, so he might possibly be getting more votes," she explained.

"I think Punam might be in the bottom two with a good dancer – someone like Shayne."

Meanwhile, last week's surprise result - which left viewers open-mouthed as they saw former JLS star JB Gill and much-loved pro Amy Dowden face the dance-off - is unlikely to be repeated, Ola believes.

The pair, who danced to Outkast's 'Hey Ya', with JB donning Andre 3000's famous neon green outfit from the music video, nearly lost out but were saved at the end.

I don’t think JB will be in the bottom two as he was in the bottom two last week and the judges will do everything to save him from being there again," Ola revealed.

The pro, who was speaking on behalf of Mecca Bingo, may have been surprised as the public to see JB dancing for survival.

Cancer survivor Amy Dowden has also gained huge popularity, after the public followed her journey through a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, maintaining her desire to return to the dancefloor throughout.

There's no saying for sure who will be next to exit the competition, but Ola's opinions have provided some food for thought.

Meanwhile, Simon Kew, spokesperson from Grosvenor Sport, has also tipped Punam Krishan as the next one to be eliminated, with her odds being slashed from 7/2 to 6/4 this week.

“Punam has found herself towards the bottom of the leaderboard for a couple of weeks now, scoring 20 and 21 respectively, so she’s progressing slower than the others who are scoring in the 30s. She could be at risk this weekend dancing to the Tango," he warned.

“Second favourite is Sam Quek, as her odds to be eliminated have been cut from 12/1 to 3/1. Sam found herself disappointed with her performance last weekend, so she might come out fighting this week!”

He added: “Pete Wicks’ ballroom journey might be ending soon, as his odds to be eliminated have been cut from 12/1 to 5/1. He’s dancing the Viennese Waltz to That's Life by Frank Sinatra this weekend.”

Chris McCausland and Tasha Ghouri, on the other hand, look likely to remain safe.