Who leads after week 1 of Strictly Come Dancing?
John Nellis topped the first Strictly Come Dancing 2026 leaderboard on Saturday night. Even so, he is not the favourite this Monday morning. Lacey Turner finished third on the scoreboard, and she now leads the winner betting at 3/1, with Nellis just behind at 10/3.
The prices have changed a lot in 48 hours. Before the first live show, Dani Dyer headed the market, while Turner was out at 15/2 and Nellis at 11/1. One dance each has reshaped the betting, though nobody left the competition this weekend. The Week 1 scores carry over into Movie Week, when the public vote opens for the first time.
Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Odds
Who's Favourite to Win Strictly Come Dancing 2026?
| Selection | Best odds | Best at | Worst odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey Turner | 3/1 | Ladbrokes, BetVictor, BoyleSports, 10bet, Coral, Sky Bet, Paddy Power | 23/10 |
| John Nellis | 10/3 | bet365, Betfred | 12/5 |
| Dani Dyer | 6/1 | BetVictor | 9/2 |
| Delta Goodrem | 7/1 | Unibet | 11/2 |
| Lawrence Robb | 10/1 | bet365, William Hill, Unibet, Betfred | 17/2 |
| Cach Mercer | 12/1 | bet365, William Hill, Betfred, BoyleSports | 10/1 |
| Tabby Stoecker | 14/1 | bet365, Unibet, Betfred, BetVictor, BetMGM, BoyleSports, 10bet, Sky Bet, Paddy Power | 11/1 |
| Bethany Antonia | 22/1 | Unibet | 16/1 |
| Will Best | 28/1 | Unibet | 14/1 |
| Jaime Winstone | 33/1 | bet365, William Hill, Unibet, Betfred, Ladbrokes, BoyleSports, Coral, Sky Bet | 28/1 |
| Graeme Hall | 33/1 | bet365, Unibet | 22/1 |
| Chris Appleton | 66/1 | bet365, Ladbrokes, BoyleSports, 10bet, Coral, Sky Bet | 50/1 |
| Melanie Walters | 80/1 | bet365, Unibet | 50/1 |
| Sarah Storey | 100/1 | bet365, Unibet, Betfred, Sky Bet | 60/1 |
| Shaun Wright-Phillips | 125/1 | bet365 | 66/1 |
Lacey Turner is the favourite at 3/1, which implies a chance of about 25%. She is already as short as 5/2 with bet365 and William Hill. Her cha cha with Vito Coppola to Whitney Houston's How Will I Know scored 27. That left her behind Nellis and Goodrem on the night, but the market is looking beyond the judges' scores.
Turner is a long-serving EastEnders star, and a soap fanbase can carry a lot of weight once the phone lines open. Her partner, Coppola, also won the Glitterball in 2023 with Ellie Leach.
Nellis is second favourite at 10/3 (about 23%), so there is very little between the top two. His foxtrot with Katya Jones earned 31, including three 8s. Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas gave it a standing ovation. "I'm a bit stunned. That was extraordinary," said Anton Du Beke.
Oddschecker's bet history shows Ladbrokes and Coral cutting him as low as 9/4 on Saturday night before the market moved towards Turner. Last year's Week 1 leader also scored 31: Karen Carney, who went on to win.
Dyer is third favourite at 6/1 (about 14%). She drifted after a samba scored 22, which left her joint sixth.
Goodrem (7/1) scored 29 with the last dance of the night. Craig Revel Horwood told her: "You are one to watch. End of."
Robb is now 10/1 after a paso doble that scored 20. He was 11/2 on Thursday.
Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Week 1 Leaderboard
| Couple | Dance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| John Nellis & Katya Jones | Foxtrot | 31 |
| Delta Goodrem & Kai Widdrington | Samba | 29 |
| Lacey Turner & Vito Coppola | Cha cha | 27 |
| Bethany Antonia & Nancy Xu | Quickstep | 26 |
| Graeme Hall & Lauren Oakley | Cha cha | 24 |
| Dani Dyer & Nikita Kuzmin | Samba | 22 |
| Tabby Stoecker & Mark Karmalita | Jive | 22 |
| Jaime Winstone & Carlos Gu | Tango | 21 |
| Lawrence Robb & Jowita Przystał | Paso doble | 20 |
| Cach Mercer & Maddie Ingoldsby | Quickstep | 20 |
| Will Best & Dianne Buswell | Samba | 18 |
| Chris Appleton & Amy Dowden | Tango | 16 |
| Sarah Storey & Julian Caillon | Quickstep | 15 |
| Shaun Wright-Phillips & Alexis Warr | Cha cha | 15 |
| Melanie Walters & Aljaž Škorjanec | Cha cha | 15 |
Mercer's quickstep split the panel. Craig called it "too much freestyle", while Motsi said it was "genius". He is still backed at 12/1.
Topping the Week 1 leaderboard is not a reliable guide to the winner. Only four of the previous 23 series were won by a couple who led after the first live show, most recently Carney last year.
When is the First Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Elimination?
The first elimination is on Sunday 4 October. Week 2 is Movie Week, which has been moved forward so all 15 couples take part. It airs on Saturday 3 October at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer, and the first public vote opens at the end of the show. The results show and first dance-off follow on Sunday at 7.10pm. The final is expected on Saturday 19 December.
