Strictly Come Dancing - Ruby tipped

Former spice girl Emma Bunton has been the subject of a fair gamble to prevail in the latest installment of the popular BBC show, Strictly Come Dancing. However, plucky 17-year-old Louisa Lytton, who plays Ruby Allen in Eastenders but is set to leave the show in November, is our selection to come out on top, Just 5/2 with Blue Square, she rates cracking value at a top-priced 9/2 with Coral.Having graduated from the Silvia Young Theatre School, Lytton has had sound dance training. She is expected to excel when dancing to the more upbeat numbers - the Latin style will bring out the best in her - and she can be expected to wow the onlookers as the show progresses. Indeed, her youthful exuberance will stand her in good stead, while the very fact that she is just 17 years of age will no doubt endear her to a huge portion of the watching public.Emma Bunton, who by her own admission can be pretty clumsy, has shown no sign of such tendencies thus far, and is probably a worthy favourite. But, at a best-priced 2/1, she's well worth opposing given that there's a chance she might peak too early, whereas Louisa Lytton, who lacks the type of stage dancing experience Bunting gained while a Spice Girl, will gradually grow in confidence and gain momentum.Following the success of Darren Gough in this competition in 2005, few will be underestimating his fellow cricketer Mark Ramprakash. But bigger dangers to the ladies may be posed by DJ Spoony, who has impressed when put through his paces thus far, and the affable Coronation Street actor Ray Fearon.Physically, Fearon will be up to the task - he's a qualified tennis coach and practices yoga - so he'll not be found wanting in that respect. The 38-year-old has had some training at drama school, prior to which his only real dancing experience was gained during his clubbing days in the 80s. However, he has the confidence to pull it off and, I expect, he'll be in the mix in the latter stages of this show.Actress Claire King is partnered by Brendan Cole, who recently appeared in the Celebrity Love Island programme on ITV. But that duo, good though they are, may fall short on the voting front owing to King's pouting and lack of emotion. It's hard to envisage her endearing herself to voters in the same way that the likes of Bunting, Fearon and, most of all, Lytton will.Overall, this looks sure to be a competitive series and, as the betting indicates, they're pretty closely matched for, although Bunting is pretty short in the market, the next few duos are pretty close matched, all at around top prices of around 9/2 or 5/1.