Rose Ayling-Ellis is odds on favourite to WIN Strictly as she goes head-to-head with John Whaite

Saturday night’s live final will see just two celebrities compete for the glitterball trophy, after AJ Odudu pulled out just a day before due to a foot injury.

And now that it’s a two horse race, Rose Ayling-Ellis, 27, is at 1-20 odds on favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing with 95% chance of lifting the glitterball trophy, as she prepares to go head-to-head with John Whaite, 32, who is the 8-1 outsider.

Other predictions suggest that EastEnders star Rose and dance partner Giovanni Pernice could finish their three routines with 119 points out of 120, compared to chef John and dance partner Johannes Rabede’s predicted 117 points.

Both finalists are groundbreaking contestants, with Rose being the first deaf celebrity to compete in Strictly come dancing and John being the first male celebrity to be in a same-sex pairing.

Leading bookmaker Coral has given Rose Ayling-Ellis an 89% chance of winning Strictly Come Dancing, and named her the shortest priced Strictly favourite ever.

The soap star has been very popular in the firm’s outright market throughout the series and is now long odds-on to lift the glitterball trophy at 1-20, while John Whaite is the 8-1 outsider to cause an upset over the weekend.

Coral’s John Hill said: ‘It’s very unfortunate that AJ has had to withdraw at this stage. Rose is now the shortest priced favourite we have ever had in a Strictly final.

‘Rose has been the favourite to lift the Glitterball Trophy from very early into this series. Our odds suggests she has a 89% chance of winning the final this weekend.

‘It will be an early Christmas present for many punters as Rose has been well backed to prevail ever since she stepped foot on the dance floor in week one.’

Elsewhere, analysis of Google search data has revealed that online searches for Rose and Giovanni have been 150% more popular than John and Johannes over the course of the current series.

A new finding by PokerListings.com reveals that online interest for favourites Rose and Giovanni has been almost three times higher than fellow finalists John and Johannes in the 2021 series, with the final due to air this Saturday.

A spokesperson for PokerListings.com commented: ‘It’s clear from the data that the internet has already picked their winner for this year’s series, so it’ll be fascinating to see how these findings match up to the real results this weekend.

‘Thus far, Rose has avoided the dreaded dance-off, whilst both John and AJ have been in the bottom two, suggesting that Rose will be the clear winner, taking home the glitterball this Saturday.

‘With searches high for all three, it is likely the result will be spoken about for weeks to come.’

Elsewhere, bookmaker Sporting Index has predicted that Rose will be just one point off achieving a perfect 120 in the Strictly final with two routines scoring 40 and the other 39.

John Waite is predicted to bag 117 points from his and Johannes’ final three dances, while betting on AJ Odudu was suspended after she pulled out of the competition due to a ligament injury.

Neville Burdock, head of trading at Sporting Index, said: ‘Last week’s tango from Rose was gripping, and three dances of that standard will see her go mightily close to receiving a maximum of 120 points on Saturday night.’

Saturday’s show will see the finalists take on a whopping three dances in a bid for the glitterball trophy –  their favourite dance of the series, a routine picked by the judges and of course their spectacular showdance.

Rose and Giovanni will be recreating their Couple’s Choice routine from week 8 which saw them dancing to Symphony by Clean Bandit (ft Zara Larsson).

The performance left people in tears as halfway through the dance, the music stopped, with the silence signifying what Rose hears as she dances.

Speaking during a recent press conference attended by MailOnline and other media about their decision to recreate the dance, Giovanni said that because it was ‘such a big moment’, it would be ‘weird for us not to do it again’.

‘Obviously the silent moment was so powerful, and because this got so much attention. Rose keeps saying the dance changed her life and lots of people’s lives, so it’s just fair to do it again and I think it’s the right thing to do.’

Of their showdance, the Italian pro said: ‘Our show dance is a celebration of me and Rose and our relationship together, in the sense of, we found this beautiful friendship and that’s what we want to celebrate on Saturday night.

He added: ‘Saturday night is to be a celebration, we are in the final, we made it all the way, then que sera sera.’

While Rose noted: ‘I think we’re going to enjoy it because it’s the last Saturday night ever. I don’t know what I’m going to do with Saturday nights [after Strictly].’

The couple will also be dancing to the judges pick of the Quickstep to Frozen’s Love Is An Open Door from Movie Week.

Meanwhile, their competitors John and Johannes will be recreating their emotional week 7 Rumba to Shape Of My Heart by Sting, with the routine leaving everyone sobbing after they dedicated it to the LGBT+ community.

John recently said of the dance, which the judges asked them to perform again in the final: ‘This was such an important moment for us. Two men dancing such an intimate dance on national TV was really a huge step forward.’

The pair will also perform their dazzling Paso Doble set to the Pirates Of The Caribbean theme as well as their such anticipated Showdance choreographed by Jason Gilkison.

Teasing the showdance to Florence + The Machine’s You Got The Love, John shared to Instagram: ‘This choreography by @jasongilkison is so gorgeous. It’s really fast, but full of bits of everything: waltz, Viennese waltz, Argentine tango, Charleston, street.

‘I really really love this and the song is an ANTHEM.’

Meanwhile, the battle for the Strictly glitterball has sparked a regional war as southerner Rose takes on northerner John.

A TV insider told The Sun: ‘The regional vote has a massive effect on the success of contestants on TV contests, and never before has there been two people in the final with such a clear geographic divide.

‘There’s a strong sense that this is a clash of the titans, as both Rose and John are incredible dancers who will now go into the final neck-and-neck with voters.

‘AJ’s exit was a tragedy for her. But getting the votes she’d have received from northerners is likely to be the last-minute surge John needed to put him in reach of the glitterball.’

Elsewhere, on Thursday, Giovanni’s foot was crushed in a closing door as he arrived at the It Takes Two film studios in London with Rose.

Thankfully, a spokesperson for Giovanni Pernice told MailOnline: ‘He is 100% OK.’

His near-injury added further worry to the fast-approaching Strictly final as AJ Odudu, 33, pulled out of the competition on Friday.

The presenter, who was partnered with rumoured boyfriend Kai Widdrington, 26, pulled out of the competition after suffering ligament damage to her foot earlier this week, leaving her unable to stand and relying on crutches.

She  was spotted on Friday leaving her London hotel to head to her final rehearsals on crutches, just one day before the Strictly final.

The star – who is said to have had treatment on Wednesday – is unable to put any weight on her foot, and was hoping to compete in the final but made the decision to pull out on Friday.

After consulting medical professionals, AJ said in a statement: ‘I’m deeply upset that I am unable to perform in the final due to a torn ligament in my right ankle.

‘Learning to dance over the last 13 weeks has been an incredible honour and to do it alongside someone as special, patient and devoted as Kai is something I’ll treasure forever.

‘Thank you to the Strictly family for the experience, the medical team for trying to get me back on my feet and mostly, to everyone at home for watching and supporting. You’ve made this experience one to remember.

‘Strictly Come Dancing has been a lifelong dream and I’m glad it came true. Good luck to my partners in dance, John and Johannes and Rose and Giovanni. I will be cheering you on (on one leg!)’

AJ and Kai broke down in tears on Friday’s It Takes Two as they made their first TV appearance since being forced to quit the show.

Speaking to Rylan Clark-Neal, ‘gutted’ AJ wiped away tears after watching a VT of their Strictly journey as she remarked: ‘It wasn’t the way we wanted to come out.’

Kai was left sobbing next to the star with Rylan handing him a tissue as they spoke about being forced to leave ahead of the final – his very first one.

AJ explained of the situation: ‘Do you know what, we had the best time and on Monday we rehearsed and we were just excited like: ‘Right, we’re going to do the jive, we’re going to do the Charleston, what a way to end our experience.’

‘My ankle’s given way and my ligament has ruptured and it’s just not gonna happen. We’re gutted because we were ready to smash it.

‘This isn’t the way that we wanted to go out, obviously, but even just looking back at all of those moments, it’s just been an absolute pleasure dancing with Kai every single week, so thank you.’

Elsewhere, it had been reported that the run time for Saturday’s final will now be significantly shorter now it has one couple down, though it’s not clear by how much.

The Sun reports that there is speculation that the BBC could be made shorter by ‘as much as 30 minutes’, which would cover the amount of screen time the couple may have occupied had they been competing.

MailOnline have contacted Strictly representatives for comment.