Strictly: Bill Bailey’s journey from bottom of the leaderboard to the show’s oldest male finalist

Bill Bailey’s Strictly journey from a lukewarm week one performance to the bookies’ favourite to win

Strictly Come Dancing comes to an end on Saturday (19 December), with Bill Bailey having become the unexpected star of the series.

Aged 55, the comedian is the oldest male contestant to reach the Strictly final, where he will be going up against HRVY, 21, Maisie Smith, 19, and Jamie Laing, 32.

Older female celebrities have made it to the final before, with Pamela Stephenson coming third in 2010, aged 61, and Debbie McGee reaching the final in 2017, aged 59.

Partnered with fan-favourite professional dancer Oti Mabuse, Bailey hasn’t had a straightforward journey to the Strictly final.

Despite his musical background – many of his comedy routines have involved playing instruments or orchestras – Bailey earned just 15 points for his week one Cha Cha Cha, including a measly three from Craig Revel Horwood. This placed him in 10th place out of the 12 contestants.

Bailey and Mabuse’s perform the Cha Cha Cha in week one (BBC/Guy Levy)

With Strictly series 18 running for fewer weeks than previous years’ shows, this caused many fans to worry that high standards among the contestants would make Bailey one of the first competitors to leave the show.

However, things soon changed in week two, after the comedian wowed the audience with a Doctor Doolittle-themed Quickstep that gained him a hugely improved 24 points, putting him in second place on the leaderboard.

Things continued to improve in the following weeks, with Bailey coming second on the leaderboard again for his Paso Doble to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” theme and his now infamous Street/Commercial routine to “Rapper’s Delight”.

For the latter routine, Horwood called Bailey “the king of pop and lock”, while head judge Shirley Ballas said: “You are genuine, you are the real deal. I’m in shock.”

In the weeks since, Bailey has tackled a variety of dances, including the American Smooth, Argentine Tango and Charleston.

However, while the Black Books star’s scores have plateaued around the 24 mark – he has still never received more than eight points from Horwood – his support from the public has not.

Heading into the final, Bailey has never been in the bottom two and is a popular figure among the bookies to win the show, with Betfair making him the 8/11 odds-on favourite to win.

Bailey and Mabuse are the bookies’ favourite to win Strictly 2020 (BBC / Guy Levy )

During Saturday night’s show, Bailey will perform his Quickstep and Street/Commercial routines again, as well as taking to the stage for his Showdance.

If Bailey wins the show, Mabuse will be the first dancer to win two consecutive series after lifting the Glitterball Trophy with Kelvin Fletcher in 2019. Former pro Aliona Vilani is the only competitor to have ever won twice before.

Strictly Come Dancing conclucdes on Saturday 19 December at 6pm on BBC One.