EastEnders Ricky Norwood dealt huge blow ahead of Dancing On Ice tonight
BBC EastEnders star Ricky Norwood has been dealt a huge blow ahead of his Dancing On Ice appearance tonight.
The 'Fatboy' actor, 40, is priced at 1/3 to leave the show tonight according to bookies Ladbrokes, meaning he's the clear favourite to leave. Eddie Edwards is also at risk - going by the latest odds - priced at 9/2. Favourites to win are Made In Chelsea's Miles Nazaire and Love Island's Amber Davies, who are both at 40/1.
"We're firmly into the business end of the competition now," Ladbrokes spokesperson Alex Apati said. "And with just seven celebs still standing, all the signs point towards an inevitable exit for Ricky Norwood tonight."
The news may come to a shock for Dancing On Ice fans, after Albert Square favourite Ricky received his highest scores so far. Skating aficionado Christopher Dean told him he'd improved the most, leaving Ricky in shock.
But it might not be enough to keep Ricky, who left EastEnders in 2015, from being booted off the competition after a rocky couple of weeks. It was reported earlier in the month that he'd had a huge row with skating partner and professional Annette Dytrt, with Ricky storming out of rehearsals after 15 minutes, and threatening to quit.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likenessBut after his frustration subsided, he reflected on how hard he's found the process, claiming it's been the "most difficult thing" of his career.
Speaking to Mirror Online about his journey, he admitted: "It's been difficult, not just mentally, but physically, emotionally. There is tension, there is pressure. It's high-intensity. What Christopher Dean said to me has motivated me and helped me believe I can do this. Annette and I want to build on that week and do even better on Sunday. I have turned down other work because my focus is on this."
Not denying he has some regrets about signing up, Ricky added: “This is something that scares me every single day when I’m asked to do something on the ice, the danger element. My brain is telling me ‘what are you doing? Go back to the cafe and grab a coffee’. I’m just pushing those voices aside and trusting my partner.”
Meanwhile, current favourite to win Miles Nazaire was forced to shut down rumours of a blossoming romance between him and pro partner Vanessa Bauer.
Speaking on Monday's Lorraine, Miles said: "For me, from the get go, we started this whole experience and I really wanted to show how much work we've put into this [their skating performance].
"For Vanessa and I, we get it, of course there's going to be speculation of a romance, whatever! It's fun, it's nice, but also it's like we really want to show how much work we're putting into this. We don't want it to be taken away: 'Oh, it's a new couple!' or something.
"We're together every day, hours and hours a day, we have such an amazing friendship, genuinely, and what she's been teaching me is every routine has a story. Yes, two dances that we did - one was ballet and one was a A Thousand Years [from the film Twilight Saga], it was all romantic and emotional. I understand why the public are going: 'Oh, is there something there?'"