BBC Strictly's Chris McCausland dealt crushing blow hours before live show

has been dealt a crushing blow halfway through the competition after being the favourite to win from the start.

Sarah Hadland, despite not leading the bookies odds for Strictly Come Dancing victory, is now being tipped by fans to throw a spanner in the works and clinch the Glitterball trophy this year.

Entering the new series of the BBC show, Miranda star Sarah, 53, was mid-way in the betting odds for the Strictly 2024 champion.

Sarah and her professional partner then ascended to the third favourites to win after delivering some stellar performances in the initial weeks of the new series.

In the last two weeks, the duo's scores have reached new highs. Their Halloween Week Argentine Tango received an impressive 38 out of 40 from the judges, and could have scored even higher had it not been for a mistake with the first lift of a challenging routine.

Sarah and Vito maintained their high standard with a Cha Cha to Madonna's Like A Prayer. Their dance secured another high score from the judges, this time 37 out of 40.

While Chris McCausland, 47, remains the bookies' favourite to win despite two weeks of relatively low scores, viewers are increasingly tipping Sarah for victory.

After watching Sarah and Vito dance on Saturday, one fan predicted on Twitter/X: "I think Sarah and Vito might win," while another agreed, saying: "Fab again from Sarah and Vito! I think they're our 2024 winners guys."

According to the latest odds from Ladbrokes, Sarah is the second favourite at 5/2, putting her firmly hot on the heels of long-time frontrunner, Chris, who is currently at 4/7.

Love Island star Tasha Ghouri remains third in the betting at 13/2, while every other celebrity is now priced at 12/1 or bigger.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Sarah's completely shaken up the Strictly betting in the last few days, and it now looks like we have - at least - a two-horse race on our hands for this year's Glitterball Trophy, despite Chris once looking a shoo-in for the trophy."

Strictly Come Dancing airs at 6.35pm on BBC One.