Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards has continued to impress judges week after week and managed to escape being eliminated from the series – but one crucial disadvantage could end things imminently.
Edwards made his name as an English ski jumper and Olympian after he became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping in 1988, finishing last in the Normal Hill and Large Hill events.
When it was first announced that he would be taking part in the competition, many claimed he had an unfair advantage due to his Winter sports background.
Edwards is still firmly in the competition, with bookmakers such as OLBG.com pricing him currently at 7/2 odds of winning the competition.
Entertainment Betting Expert Jake Ashton explained: “Adele Roberts is now the clear betting favourite at 9/4 to win this year's Dancing on Ice with bookmakers now changing the betting market right around after the latest lot of dances!”
However, whilst many believe Edwards could go all the way, dance expert Dr Jill Jacobs has exposed the key disadvantage that he has that could stop him from claiming victory.
Eddie faced backlash when he first started the competition
ITV
She told GB News on behalf of Heart Bingo: “I really like Ryan [Thomas] he is a super nice guy, I like his character and he just really knows how to connect. He is genuine, I like his character and that is why he is still in the competition.
“However, for me, you are really talking about Ricky [Norwood] and Ryan are going to be going out because the women have already been narrowed down right.
“Greg and Miles are the leading men and then Eddie because he is the leading man in his category, he is adding dimension to the show."
Pinpointing a key disadvantage Edwards possesses, she added: “But he is not a contender for the win, he lacks upper body strength that I don’t believe he has ever had. He is a very good skater, I am surprised and what a good skater he is.
Fans hailed Eddie their 'winner' after he came down on a giant Eagle
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“But it is transferring his skills of not being afraid of ice, snow, jumping, it isn’t transferring into skating and he doesn’t, in my opinion, have what he needs for the partnering aspect. He is not a contender for the win but he won’t be eliminated as early as Ryan and Ricky.”
Edwards previously spoke about the backlash he received about his Winter sports background and noted that skiing and ice skating were two “completely” different sports.
“A lot of my friends on Facebook are saying, ‘Oh it’s not fair you can ski so you can skate’.
“I don’t think they realise they’re two completely different sports, I think my dancing has helped more than my skiing.
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Eddie has odds of 7/2 at winning the competition
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“The only thing that’s really helped with my skiing is I know all about inside edges and outside edges because we got those on skis.
“As soon as I signed up to do Dancing on Ice, people were saying, ‘Oh yeah but you can Ski so of course you can skate’.
“You can’t at all! They’re two completely different sports, there’s a lot of pressure on me to perform well and it’s a little bit nerve-wracking,” he told Express.co.uk.