Craig Revel Horwood thinks Ed Balls could be the "wild card" that wins ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 51-year-old judge would love to see either ‘Hollyoaks’ star Danny Mac, former Eternal singer Louise Redknapp or sports journalist Ore Oduba take home the glitter ball trophy on the BBC One Latin and ballroom show, but he is worried viewers will give the former politician the people’s vote just to "spite" him.
Asked who he thinks will be dancing their way into the final, he said: "Danny [Mac], Louise Redknapp, and I love Ore! Although I have a horrible feeling that Ed Balls has enough gimmicks to be the wild card … And the public will keep voting for him just to spite me!"
After seeing Ann Widdecombe make it into week 10, the harsh critic thinks Ed could stand a chance but he doesn’t think he has any "flair" for dancing and he doubts he has it in him to be as good as Danny, 28, Louise, 42 and Ore, 29.
He said: "He could train even harder, but the flair for dancing just ins’t there and I can’t imagine his technique ever reaching the level of Danny or Ore. But Ann Widdecombe got through to week 10, so anything is possible!
"I mean, he could go on to win it … it’s entirely up to the audience in the end, but of course if he ever ends up in the bottom two he’ll be out straightaway."
However, Craig has praised the 49-year-old star for keeping "good timing" and has admitted he exceeded all of his expectations.
In his half-term report for the ‘Strictly’ class of 2016, Craig said of Ed in Radio Times magazine: "Much to my surprise, he actually keeps good timing, he is entertaining. And probably to everyone’s surprise, the public love him.
"I was expecting him to be a lot worse than he is – I definitely didn’t think he would throw himself into the dancing as much as he has!"
However, the dance enthusiast is not impressed with Ed’s lack of technique.
On Ed’s biggest weakness, he added: "Unfortunately he has absolutely no semblance of technique whatsoever."
Craig Revel Horwood: Ed Balls could win Strictly Come Dancing
