After Molly Rainford seriously impressed judges with her quickstep, fans are wondering who is Molly on Strictly Come Dancing?
The youngster got off to a shaky start when the series started has saved herself from elimination from last weeks' show with her impressive dance moves. Her odds have tightened with the quickstep seeing her jump from 18-1 to 8-1 to win, according to William Hill bookmakers.
She’s currently fifth favourite to win this year’s series - having previously placed in the bottom five. The judges were impressed by her last dance with Strictly pro dancer Carlos Gu, awarding her a score of 34 out of 40.
And with performances like her last, she could be fighting for the top spot that Will Mellor currently holds at 2-1 as we look at all you need to know about Molly...
Who is Molly on Strictly Come Dancing?
Molly Rainford is a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing 2022 and she is best-known for playing the title role in Nova Jones, which sees her perform as a trend-setting galactic popstar on the CBBC channel.
Molly, who was born in the London borough of Havering and was raised in Essex, is no stranger to reality shows, having starred in ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2012 singing her own version of Jennifer Hudson's One Night Only from Dreamgirls film.
She went through to the semi-final stages where she sang It Must Have Been Love by Roxette. Molly made it through to the final after finishing second in the public vote. In the final, she sang Beyoncé's version of Ave Maria and finished the competition in sixth place and became the show's youngest ever finalist aged 11.
Following the show, she was signed to Sony Music. Molly went on to star as one of the presenters on Friday Download between 2013 and 2014.
On signing up to Strictly she said, "I'm so excited to be part of Strictly Come Dancing. I've watched it for years." And since her time on the show, Tony Kenny, head of sponsorship PR at William Hill, branded her as "one to watch". He explained, “Molly Rainford was always going to do well eventually comes to the Strictly, being from a performance background usually helps. It’s early days though, but I think she’s one to watch and will continue to do well and impress the judges - we will have to wait and see next week to be sure!”
Since competing on Strictly Molly has confirmed she is dating Tyler West.
Who are Molly Rainford's parents?
Molly Rainford's parents are Dave and Sarah Rainford. Her father is a former footballer, having played midfield and between 2012-2013 he was assistant manager for Chelmsford City FC. In his footballing career he also played for Colchester and a variety of other teams including Slough Town, Heybridge Swifts, Bishop's Stortford and AFC Hornchurch.
Meanwhile it's not known what Molly's mum does for a living but she is supportive of her children. When Molly celebrated her 21st birthday, Sarah shared, "Happy 21st birthday to my beautiful girl you are the most adorable sweetest young lady. I couldn't be any prouder of you. Love you so much @mollyrainford."
Molly previously revealed her parents feelings over her dating life, she said, "I'm only 21, so I'm not looking for a relationship on Strictly. That's not in the picture right now. I want to focus on my career.
"My parents don't want me to be distracted or worrying about boys just yet. I'm single and don't plan on changing it."
Molly has since been romantically linked to professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, according to The Sun.
Where did Molly Rainford train?
Molly Rainford trained to perform when she was given a drama school scholarship at Sylvia Young Theatre School by Simon Cowell and Sony and she later attended East London Arts & Music.
Related Strictly Come Dancing Features:
- Who are the Strictly It Takes Two presenters?
- Who is Hamza Yassin?
- Who is Tony Adams' wife?
- Strictly Come Dancing Live tour 2023
- Who left Strictly Come Dancing last night?
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