Louis has come in from 4/6 to 1/10 in the duration of the show.
That looks strange to me. I'm not suggesting there has been anything amiss with the voting, but it does suggest a leak.
Ordinary punters don't bet at prices beyond 1/2 on generally, putting £500 down to win £50 suggests enormous confidence..or inside knowledge.

Come on, the show dance did it.

Definite inside knowledge, there's no way he'd drift to 1/10 on his performances alone.

Totally agree ... being topless ensured his victory

cmon... everybody knows he is the fave.. and that show dance is a revelation!!

They're dancing tonight - that showdance in particular is unforgettable - won it for them.

No, you've misunderstood me. Louis won fair and square, but I'm wondering if there was some kind of betting scam going on.
It won't interest most Strictly viewers, but as someone who follows these things, I'm just curious.

No way he'd have been that short without inside information

Although he saved his best for the final, I am not sure who actually voted for him. I would never have voted for him because he came over as arrogant at times and very stroppy as well. But he obviously had a big fan base somewhere for him to beat Kimberley who is very popular and has a big fanbase from GA!

The odds will shorten in accordance of money being placed on a Louis win. That's how odds work.

EDIT: And casual betters do not determine odds. Louis was almost always certain money for the punters and after his fault free initial performance then a spectacular freestyle, he was an absolute sure thing. The bookies would have lost enough tonight, perish the though they had kept him at longer odds.

i thought Louis had in the bag after his salsa. Phone lines opened immediately after it too, so maximum advantage

more than being topless... the baring of his heart and soul in that dance clinched it for me!! abso-ef-fing-lutely breathtaking and affecting!!

I agree, Flavia is very savvy and she knew that when Artem and Robin have gone topless it has brought in the votes! But give me Kimberley any day over Louis topless. I love her moody, sultry look and her smile is to die for and I am a straight woman!

Aww come on Darcy how much did you blow on voting for Kimberley then?

Most people I have talked to at work this week who watch the show were rooting for Louis. Perfect end to Olympic year

Well I was unable to get through to vote. Kept getting a 'Number Unavailable'message. And I wasn't phoning for Louis!

Yes exactly, that's the point. A very unusual pattern. If you know anything at all about betting you would have understood the original point. That's how forums are supposed to work...

It's all one number before you get the busy signal, so it doesn't matter who you were voting for,

I did get your point, and countered it in my edit.

Precisely. But 4/6 to 1/10 in a couple of hours ? That suggests some enormous bets, and not many people would pile on money at such restrictive odds without feeling pretty certain of the result. Have you ever seen it happen before ?

Yes a few times actually - betting on a phone vote result is ripe with potential news leaks - its not new at all.

I havn't got a problem with him winning because it was obvious that he must have been popular because he had never been in the bottom two. But I did honestly think that Kimberley would just edge it with her GA fanbase and because she has been so popular on here. I have not seen that many fans for him and wondered who did actually like him! Obviously the young girls?

Yes I found the same thing and not only amonst women. There was a lot of respect for him amongst those who wanted him to win - think they felt he had the most to gain - starting out on new path etc seemed yo be a common comment.

Oh right, thats fair enough. For someone more used to horses, football, and other sports, it looks most peculiar.

Can you give an example of a reality TV final where the odds have shortened so drastically? I can't think of one.

Even when the winner of I'm A Celeb drifted majorly towards Charlie winning five minutes before the annoucement, she only got to around 1/2.

He's improved so much on the performance side in the last few weeks that the odds could change dramatically. Especially as people who would've been voting for say Lisa or any others who've gone out recently would switch their votes to someone else maybe Louis was 2nd choice for them. And bookies have picked up that he'd become the favourite with the voting public.