Matt Di Angelo hopes to shed underdog tag

Matt Di Angelo has warned that he does not want to receive "sympathy votes" from Strictly Come Dancing viewers.

The actor admitted that he may be seen as the underdog when he goes head-to-head with bookies' favourite Alesha Dixon tonight, but insisted that he only wants to get support for dancing well.

"I don't want to be thought of as an underdog," Matt told The Sun. "I want people to vote for our performance, not just give us a sympathy vote."

However, Matt, who received a perfect score of 40 from the judges for his waltz last weekend, insisted that he has not given up hope of winning the dance contest.

"I picked out Alesha to make the final from the beginning," he said. "I think she's a fantastic dancer. I didn't think we had a chance of winning - but now who knows!"