CUMBRIAN Helen Skelton has had her odds slashed to win Strictly after topping the leader board for the first time.

Helen and her Spanish partner Gorka Marquez wowed the judges with their Charleston, scoring a personal best 35 points.

They were joined at the top of the board by wildlife photographer and presenter Hamza Yassin, who scored 35 for his quickstep with partner Jowita.

This week’s dances were performed to iconic BBC television themes in the week that the broadcaster celebrated 100 years of educating, informing and entertaining the nation.

Helen and Gorka danced their Charleston to the iconic Blue Peter theme tune, the show on which Skelton made her name at the start of her career.

Helen Skelton has had her odds slashed down to 4/1 to win the famous glitterball trophy and is now second favourite in her own right after beating Will Mellor and Tyler West in this week’s episode.

However, Helen still has work to do to overtake bookies' favourite Hamza Yassin who sits as clear favourite with odds of 4/5.

Hamza was not one of the original favourites for the show, but a string of strong performances has catapulted him to the top of the bookies’ lists.

Strictly will return this week at 6:50pm on BBC One.

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