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- Cach Mercer heads the early Strictly Come Dancing 2026 winner market at Ladbrokes at 4/1
- Dani Dyer and Lacey Turner are next-best at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively
- Bookmakers will add contestants once the BBC confirms the full lineup
Cach Mercer Leads a Partial Strictly Market
Ladbrokes have opened an early market on Strictly Come Dancing 2026 as the BBC works through its confirmations for this year's contestant lineup, and Cach Mercer has been installed as the market's opening 4/1 favourite.
Dani Dyer sits next at 5/1, with Lacey Turner at 6/1, Will Best at 7/1, Delta Goodrem at 10/1 and Chris Appleton at 12/1 rounding out the current board.
That's an early call, and it's a punchy one. Bookies usually wait for a fuller field before pricing anyone so tight, so Mercer getting the nod at this stage tells you the trading desk has already made up its mind about who fits the winner mould.
Cach is a dancer, and that dancing experience may well put him in good stead in the opening weeks of the series.
Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Full Odds
| Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Winner | Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Cach Mercer | 4/1 | 20.00% |
| Dani Dyer | 5/1 | 16.67% |
| Lacey Turner | 6/1 | 14.29% |
| Will Best | 7/1 | 12.50% |
| Delta Goodrem | 10/1 | 9.09% |
| Chris Appleton | 12/1 | 7.69% |
So What's the Story with Cach Mercer?
Strictly winners lately have leaned heavily toward contestants with recognisable profiles from adjacent parts of entertainment and sport, and Cach is a Love Island winner.
Recent series have consistently rewarded contestants who build strong audience connections week-to-week, and everything about how Mercer's been priced suggests bookies think he can build exactly that kind of arc across the run.
That said, 20% implied on any single contestant when we don't even know the full field yet is a bold call. Expect the price to soften a touch once more names arrive.
Dani Dyer and Lacey Turner are The Names Everyone Knows
Dani Dyer at 5/1 is one of the most recognisable names on the board.
Between her own Love Island past and her dad Danny's turn on EastEnders a few years back, she arrives with all the built-in audience familiarity the show tends to reward.
The family connection alone is going to generate coverage before she's even set foot on the floor.
Lacey Turner at 6/1 brings something different with the soap actor route. And it's a good route. Stacey Dooley, Kelvin Fletcher, Rose Ayling-Ellis are all soap or reality-adjacent names and all Strictly winners.
Turner's Stacey Slater on EastEnders puts her in front of millions every week, and that built-in visibility usually translates.
The Lineup Isn't Done Yet
Big flag before you dive in on any of these prices: this is a provisional market.
The BBC has more contestants to confirm, and bookies will add them to the board once they do. That means every price on the current board is going to move; some might shorten as their leaders defend their positions, others will drift as new challengers arrive.
You're pricing on a partial field right now, which is genuinely part of the fun with early Strictly markets.
What the expert says...
Jake Ashton - Entertainment Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Where To Bet on Reality TV Markets
Strictly is one of the biggest reality TV betting markets of the autumn, and there are plenty of options once the show starts.
The best entertainment betting sites tend to lead the way, with outright winner markets, first-to-be-voted-off, and weekly head-to-heads between couples, all available across the leading UK bookies once the run gets going.
