Strictly Come Dancing fans fear Week 10 could be the end of the road for one couple, following the choice of dance they've been tasked with.
Last week, Angela Rippon was the unfortunate star to say her goodbyes - leaving pro partner Kai Widdrington in tears - after losing to Bobby Brazier in the dance-off and now just six couples remain.
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe will perform a Paso Doble, while Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu are tasked with the Cha Cha.
Frontrunners Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola will dance the Argentine Tango, while Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin will hope for a perfect score with their American Smooth.
Completing the line-up is Nigel Harman - who sparked concern with his reaction to last week's score - as he'll dance the Rumba with Katya Jones, and Brazier and Dianne Buswell will hope to avoid the dance-off with an emotional Couple's Choice.
Now, much like when fans were proven right when they feared the worst for Adam Thomas before his exit, a number of viewers are fearing the curse of the Rumba could rear its head again.
Nigel Harman was visibly disappointed last week
BBC
The Rumba is a famously hard dance for competitors, with a number of the pros and host Claudia Winkleman pointing out previously that it's particularly tricky for male celebs.
So following on from a series of critical comments from the judges last weekend, some fans fear Harman has been stitched up by being given the tough dance in Week 10. A number of the fears came on the online forum site Reddit, with one Strictly fan saying: "I really can't call the DO this week from the dances. Maybe Angela with her Cha Cha Cha and Nigel's Rumba?"
A second weighed in: "Nigel, Annabel and Angela all have dances that could go either way and I can’t gauge which one of them is most popular with viewers at this point, I get the impression it’s pretty close."
Meanwhile, a third feared the worst: "If Nigel doesn't perform the rumba well at all this week, He deserves to be in the dance-off. I don't hate him, but since week 1, his nine lives have run out. He has not really shined in any dances since the first one."
"I mean I feel they are clearly trying to get rid of Nigel with giving him this dance at this stage," a fourth claimed.
While a fifth added: "Rumba for males is always harder. Have a feeling if the public don’t help out Nigel will end up in bottom 2."
And a sixth weighed in: "I think Ellie and Vito are sure to get that first 40 now...Annabel and Johannes could be in trouble, but maybe not as much trouble as Nigel and Katya..."
The fears were replicated on Instagram as well, with one fan replying to the clip of this week's songs and dances saying: "So excited to see bobby's couples choice and Annabel and Jojo's paso. Nigel is doing the cursed dance so i think he will be out." (sic)
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Nigel Harman received tough criticism from the judges
BBC
And another Instagram user agreed: "They may have given Nigel the hardest dance trying to get him voted out. Shirley will find something wrong with it she always says something negative about his routine but nobody else’s."
Whether Harman and Jones will be able to defy fans' fears remains to be seen but they've certainly been backed by the bookies to make it past Week 10.
While Leach's odds of winning the entire series shorten week by week, Harman still remains her closest opposition according to William Hill.
Lee Phelps, the bookmakers' spokesperson said this week: "There seems to be no stopping Ellie Leach in this year’s Strictly series and the Coronation Street actress remains our firm favourite to win the show. “Ellie was already holding odds of 2/7 to win the Glitterball Trophy before last week’s Blackpool Special, but has seen that price shorten even further to 1/4 after scoring a personal best of 39 points on Saturday.
“Nigel Harman (13/2) and Layton Williams (15/2) now have a lot of ground to make up as the series approaches its climax, with previous favourite Bobby Brazier now a 14/1 shot."
However, it seems Scanlon and Croft are the furthest outsiders to win the series and may end up in this week's dance-off is the odds are anything to go by.
