John Sergeant's unexpectedly long spell on Strictly Come Dancing has captured the imagination of British punters, it has emerged.
William Hill revealed this week that it recently took a bet of £100 on the veteran broadcaster winning the celebrity competition at 66/1, despite the withering comments he received from the judges last Saturday (November 8th).
Meanwhile, Paddy Power is offering 11/1 on Sergeant being eliminated at the semi-final stage and rates his chances of reaching the final at 25/1.
Although struggling to master many of the steps on Strictly Come Dancing, the 64-year-old has proved popular with viewers of the BBC1 show, who can vote to keep their favourites in the contest.
"The public are really hitting the phones for John and one of our punters has risked a £100 that he will go the whole way," confirmed William Hill spokesperson Rupert Adams.
Sergeant told the Daily Mirror on Monday that he is "still enjoying it very much" on Strictly, despite being ridiculed by judges such as Bruno Tonioli and Arlene Phillips.
John Sergeant's unexpectedly long spell on Strictly Come Dancing has captured the imagination of British punters, it has emerged.