BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood responds to exit rumours

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has issued a statement about his future on the show as he opened up on this year's 'fantastic' line-up

Chatting to Charlotte Hawkins and Adil Ray on Good Morning Britain, Craig Revel Horwood revealed he's eager to remain a judge on the show.

Adil noted: "You're the longest serving judge on there now. I think I heard you say you never want to leave, you want to stay there."

"I do want to stay," was the succinct five-word reply from Craig. "It's the best Saturday ever, I love it. I get a front row seat to the best show ever. For me it's irreplaceable."

When quizzed about his Glitterball Trophy favourite, Craig said: "Well, I am loving the cast, I think Chris [McCausland] is fantastic, I absolutely love his sense of humour, he answers me back the most. He's brilliant.

"Tasha [Ghouri] is fantastic, absolutely gorgeous dancer. There's people coming up, namely a footballer darling. It didn't start particularly well but Paul [Merson] has come through and treating it really seriously. It's wonderful because it's what the show is about."

Despite Craig rooting for Paul's progress, odds suggest he might be leaving soon, with bookmakers Bet MGM pricing his departure from Strictly at 10/11 on Sunday evening, with Dr Punam Krishan and Wynne Evans also in contention, reports the Mirror.

The odds are tumbling for Wynne Evans' potential departure from Strictly Come Dancing this weekend. Initially, the opera star was seen as a long 20/1 bet at the opening of the markets, but punters have witnessed their bookies slashing those odds drastically to a mere 9/2, positioning him now as the third most likely contestant to take his final bow on Sunday night.

Top of the betting charts is Paul at a near-certainty of 10/11, while Punam trails just behind after her last place finish in the previous week's show, with odds of 13/4 against her.

Sam Behar, UK Director at BetMGM, commented: "Paul Merson might be the favourite to leave Strictly this weekend but Wynne Evans certainly isn't without a chance of leaving. He looked a lively outsider a couple of weeks ago in the outright betting but the news this week certainly hasn't helped his chances and he's been very well-backed to exit on Sunday night.

"He opened up at 20/1 but is now just 9/2, with only Paul Merson (10/11) and Punam Krishan (13/4) shorter in the next elimination betting."