Bookie favourite Dame Helen tipped for Oscar

4:48pm Thursday 25th January 2007

No one will be surprised if Dame Helen Mirren grabs her first Oscar - least of all the bookies.

She's become the odds-on favourite to take the coveted best actress award, at odds as high as 1/12.

"You have to be very sure to place £3,000 to win £250 and it would seem that the British public are 100 per cent sure that victory for Helen Mirren is a formality," a William Hill spokesman said.

Countrywomen Dame Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal) and Kate Winslet (Little Children), both previous winners, will hope the bookies have got it wrong. Their chances have been rated at 14/1 and 25/1, respectively.

Forest Whitaker leads the pack for best actor, coming in at 1/4 to win his first Oscar as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

Speculative punters can even bet on the chance of a "wardrobe malfunction" occuring while actresses collect their awards.

With gravity defying dresses and double-sided tape remaining popular for dresses, it just migh be a winner.

Behind the camera, Stephen Frears (The Queen) and Paul Greengrass (United 93) seem to be outside contenders for best director, at 9/1 and 10/1.

Instead, all the hype surrounding gangster epic The Departed has put Martin Scorsese 1/3 favourite to win the award that has eluded him six times.

The Oscars will be broadcast in the UK on February 26.

What are their chances?

Best film: 1/1 The Departed, 11/4 Babel, 7/2 Little Miss Sunshine, 10/1 Letters from Iwo Jima, 10/1 The Queen

Best director: 1/3 Martin Scorsese (The Departed), 7/1 Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags of our Father), 7/1 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel), 9/1 Stephen Frears (The Queen), 10/1 Paul Greengrass (United 93).

Best actor: 1/4 Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), 5/1 Peter O'Toole (Venus), 8/1 Leonardo Di Caprio (The Departed/Blood Diamond), 14/1 Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), 33/1 Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson).

Best actress: 1/12 Helen Mirren (The Queen), 10/1 Meryl Streep (The Devil wears Prada), 14/1 Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), 25/1 Penelope Cruz (Volver), 25/1 Kate Winslet (Little Children).

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