Strictly Mark Foster

Mark Foster is one of Britain’s most successful swimmers of all time and carried the flag for his country in the 2008 Olympics. Towards the end of last year he made housewives’ hearts flutter after swapping the pool for the ballroom and competing in the sixth series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

He’s looking forward to the final of this year’s series and has decided to put his £20 Betdaq bet behind sports presenter Chris Hollins and partner Ola Jordan. Mark says:

“Although Chris is not the best dancer I think he will win on popular vote. Personally, I think Ali was by far the most talented celebrity dancer, but now she’s gone, the title has to be Chris’s.”

Charity
Mark’s chosen charity is Have a Heart Children's Cancer Society.
Have a Heart was formed for the sole purpose of improving the quality of life for children diagnosed with cancer and their families. The organisation works with hospitals, medical centers and other groups to locate families who have financially fallen prey to this debilitating disease. Once identified, they are able to assist them with medical costs, treatments, equipment, transportation and household expenses.
www.haveaheartcharity.org

Mr Betdaq
Unfortunately Paul Sackey misplaced his charity bet by backing his favourite team Liverpool to beat Blackburn a fortnight ago, but Mark Foster could well have called it right this time.

Previous series of Strictly have shown that the best dancers don’t always triumph and that winning over the viewing public has as much, if not a greater bearing on the final result. Since day one, Chris has shown a willingness to learn from his partner and teacher Ola and has approached each dance with an endearing enthusiasm, even if he’s found it difficult to grasp the finer points of a particular style.

Chris’s rival for the glitterball trophy, Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle, is undoubtedly the best dancer of the two and at first glance seems to have what it takes to appeal to the TV viewers at home. He’s fairly humble and, much like Mark did last year, loves to show off his muscular torso for the female vote. Plus, his partner Natalie Lowe is a fantastic choreographer and has previous form in winning the Australian version of the show. However, Ricky’s missed out on votes thanks to a fair amount of negative press coverage.

I personally think it could go either way but as Chris was a 25/1 shot at one point during the series and he’ll be second-favourite on Saturday, I’ll be cheering him on. Either way, it’s sure to be very close. Best of luck Mark!

Latest odds on Betdaq:
Ricky & Natalie        4/7
Chris & Ola        5/4