How to bet on reality TV show outcomes

Reality shows make up a decent chunk of the TV schedule nowadays, and the rise of such shows has led to an increase in betting opportunities on them. 

Big Brother kicked things off in style on Channel 4 in 2000. 

Fronted by a 32-year-old Davina McCall, the nation was gripped by the social experiment, and TV bosses have been trying to devise new reality TV show concepts ever since. 

A quarter of a decade later, and there are plenty of reality shows to watch and bet on, including the likes of Big Brother and its star-studded sibling Celebrity Big Brother, BBC ballroom dancing series Strictly Come Dancing and ITV2 dating show Love Island.

But how can you bet on reality shows? 

How to bet on reality show markets 

The fundamentals of betting on novelty markets are easy to grasp. To place a bet on a reality TV show, follow these steps: 

1. Visit one of the best UK bookmakers and be sure to claim your welcome bonus. We recommend Ladbrokes as the best - click the offer link below to claim £20 in free bets when you bet £5 with Ladbrokes.

2. Click on a market called something like "specials" or "TV, music and film", or "novelty".

3. Select your market (e.g. Big Brother winner).

4. Select your bet. 

5. Click confirm, as you would on the outcome of a football match or horse race. 

Some betting sites will allow punters to include the winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! or Strictly Come Dancing in a multiple with their weekend football picks, or horse fancies. 

If a certain reality show market has decimal odds and you're used to fractional, just check out our guide on how odds work to make sense of it.

Other recommended UK bookmakers for reality TV show betting - plus welcome bonuses 

Reality shows to bet on 

- Love Island 

- I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

- Britain's Got Talent 

- Big Brother 

- Celebrity Big Brother 

- Strictly Come Dancing

- Dancing on Ice 

One positive for bookmakers covering reality TV show markets is their prices might be picked up in the newspapers. It's not unusual for a newspaper to back up their claims that something is going to happen by including odds on it. 

For example, some publications try to predict the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! line-up before it has been confirmed by ITV. The bookmakers often run a market based on that information.

From a betting point of view, it can useful to take an early price on someone to win a reality TV show if it is bigger than you expect it to be. 

And a bet on a rumoured contestant who doesn't appear in the show will more than likely be voided. 

Realty show surprises 

However, just because someone, or something, is a favourite to win or be evicted from a reality TV show, that doesn't mean it's a done deal. 

There are shocks galore in specials betting. 

In Love Island: All Stars 2025, Grace Jackson and Luca Bish went into the final as short-priced favourites to scoop the £50,000 prize money.  Casey O'Gorman and Gabby Allen had been challenging them for days, but just before the finale Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Curtis Pritchard became second favourites. 

While there was money coming for the top two in the market, Love Island backers were left stunned when third favourites Casey and Gabby triumphed. 

There was another huge reality TV show shock in 2025. 

A week prior to the final of Britain's Got Talent, which aired its longest-ever series, Hear Our Voice were around 10/1 to win the £250,000 prize and a spot at the Royal Variety Performance. 

The choir were made up of staff from the Post Office who had been wronged by the infamous Horizon scandal, when hundreds of sub-postmasters in the UK were wrongly prosecuted and persecuted due to errors made by a faulty computer system. 

Hear Our Voice had solid form heading into the final after winning the public vote in their live semi-final, and they appeared to have the sympathy vote. Their position looked even stronger during the final, and they were backed into a short price to win BGT in-play ... before finishing seventh. 

I'm A Celebrity went through a stage of forking out thousands to have headline-grabbing politicians as campmates. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock headed into the Australian jungle in 2022, and a year later Nigel Farage did the same. 

Both were expected to bomb out of the show early, but they both made the final, finishing third in their respective series. 

Hancock was as big as 33/1 to win his series before heading into camp, which would've been a lovely place pay out if you had backed him each-way - one bet on a selection to win and another bet on a selection to place, which is often the top three in reality shows - at that price.  

While many expected Hancock and Farage to go out early, it didn't happen, and there have been similar surprises in Strictly Come Dancing over the years. 

One of the biggest Strictly surprises of all time was comedian Bill Bailey's 2020 triumph. 

The actor and his pro partner Oti Mabuse started out as 50/1 outsiders to lift the Glitterball Trophy - but they ended the series as Strictly champions. It was a similar story in 2009, when BBC Breakfast sports presenter Chris Hollins defied odds of 33/1 to win series seven alongside pro partner Ola Jordan. 

Comedian Chris McCausland made show history as the first-ever blind contestant to take part in Strictly in 2024. 

In betting markets, he opened up as a double-figure price to win the series, but it soon became apparent that he was a decent dancer and was a master at following his pro partner Dianne Buswell's detailed direction. 

Just hours before the Strictly final, Chris went off as the shortest-ever favourite to win the BBC programme, at 1/33, and he duly obliged, winning the Glitterball Trophy. 

Other Strictly shocks over the years, include former England footballer Tony Adams. 

The ex-Arsenal defender was one of the favourites to be eliminated in the first week of 2022's series 20 - but he survived six eliminations, before eventually retiring hurt. 

In running

While there wasn't much juice in Chris and Bill's price during the Strictly final, it's worth checking if a bookmaker is taking in-running bets during a reality show's finale.  

Several betting sites allowed in-play wagers on Britain's Got Talent's final in 2025, when magician Harry Moulding triumphed.

If you have a position on someone heading into the final of a reality show, then it might be a good idea to have a look at potential in-play opportunities. 

Reality show betting risks 

Like with any betting, there are plenty of risks attached to wagers on reality shows. 

Betting on someone to be evicted from Strictly, I'm A Celebrity, Celebrity Big Brother or Love Island can be a good way to add interest if you find yourself watching an episode of one of those shows. 

But sometimes reality show bosses can spring surprises.  For example, double, or even triple evictions can sometimes crop up at the last minute.

If you're dabbling on a reality TV show elimination market you will usually be betting on the "next contestant to be evicted", rather than the "contestant to be evicted in the next episode". 

So, if a show like Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity announces a last-minute double eviction then be aware you probably don't have two chances at a winning pick. Always check the rules. 

Another risk of betting on reality shows is people's unpredictability when they are living in intense environments with people they don't know, such as in Celebrity Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity. 

You may think a certain actor or singer is so popular they are bound to receive plenty of public votes, giving them a huge chance of show success. 

However, a potential early exit should also be considered. 

If a contestant isn't coping well with the conditions of a reality show - for example, a lack of food on I'm A Celebrity, or living with an irritating star on Big Brother - they might quit early. 

Most, if not all, bookmakers are unlikely to void a bet if your contestant of choice leaves a programme early of their own accord, and the same goes for someone who is chucked off a reality show for breaking the rules.

It's also not unusual, in a show like Love Island, for a contestant to be re-instated to a series further down the line. 

If someone you've backed for victory is dumped from the Island, but is reinstated later in the series, such as during the chaotic Casa Amor stage of the programme, it's unlikely your bet will be reinstated. 

It will be settled as a loser when your Islander walks out of the villa, and if you still think the returning contestant has a chance of winning the contest you will have to place another wager. 

Another factor to consider when placing bets on reality shows is how much airtime a contestant may have. 

Often on a series like I'm A Celebrity, the campmates who have had the most airtime throughout the series make the latter stages. 

There can be a huge star in camp, but if they're not entertaining the nation with their over-the-top reactions to creepy crawlies in the dreaded Bushtucker Trials, or not keeping camp amused with their comical quips, they might find themselves on the cutting room floor.

While they will be jetting back from Australia sooner rather than later, you will be chucking your I'm A Celebrity betting slip Down Under and into the bin. 

Do your research 

Doing your research on a reality TV show before getting involved financially is hugely important. 

Voting trends aren't uncommon in reality show betting. 

We have seen this over the years in ITV's now-rested ice-skating reality TV show Dancing on Ice. In 2025's series 17, Coronation Street actor Sam Aston became the ninth male celebrity in a row to win Dancing on Ice. 

A female star hasn't won the show since Olympian Beth Tweddle in 2013's eighth series. Coronation Street star Sam won in 2025, a year after fellow cobbles actor Ryan Thomas triumphed. 

And 2025's Celebrity Big Brother series was won by another Corrie favourite - Jack P Shepherd. 

Is it any coincide Coronation Street is ITV's biggest soap, and Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother are both ITV shows? The voting viewers clearly watch in large numbers, and back their favourites. 

Another reality show trend takes place over on BBC One in Strictly Come Dancing. 

If there's a Strictly contestant with lots of previous dance experience, then it might be wise to steer clear of backing them to win the show. 

From several previous Strictly series, it seems viewers prefer someone with a "journey", rather than past dance experience under their belt - even if they haven't dabbled in Latin or ballroom before. 

Some examples include former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri.

She had experience competing in dance events, and finished as one of three runners-up in 2024's Strictly, and it was a similar story for West End star Layton Williams a year earlier. 

In 2017, there was a huge shock when JLS singer Aston Merrygold - one of the ante-post favourites to win that year - became the sixth star of the series to be eliminated, and Holby City actor Joe McFadden went on to win the series. 

While the judges can award Strictly contestants 10-out-of-10 scores across the board, it is ultimately down to a public vote to decide which star goes home. 

Don't forget to check the TV schedule either. 

Strictly airs earlier than the likes of 9pm show I'm A Celebrity. 

So, in I'm A Celebrity you might be more likely to have an older winner of the Ant and Dec-fronted programme, such as when Harry Redknapp triumphed in 2018 at the age of 71, or superbike racer Carl Fogarty stormed to victory in 2014, aged 49 at the time. 

If a show has a public vote for its eliminations, it's worth looking at whether producers are asking the public to vote to "save" or vote to "eliminate". 

In a "vote to save" situation, viewers are likely to just vote for their favourite, but if it is "vote to eliminate" then the same viewer might use their vote to boot out that irritating housemate instead.  

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