Michelle is the new favourite to win Pop Idol following the shock exit of Sam last night (Saturday).

Bookmakers Ladbrokes have odds of 4/6 on Michelle taking the title next weekend compared to 11/10 for a Mark victory.

"The final is going to be much closer than we predicted," Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush told Digital Spy today. "Bookies got this one seriously wrong, we thought Sam had all but won and are amazed that he went. We didn't even take one bet for him to go. Michelle is the odds-on favourite but punters are backing Mark and there could be nothing between them by the end of the week.

"Both Michelle and Mark were written off by the bookies early on. Michelle's odds were as big as 33/1, while there are a number of punters out there who had £100 bets on Mark at 50/1. There is little doubt that we are cheering on Mark as a win for Michelle would result in a six figure payout for the industry."