All that hip shaking on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has paid off for ‘EastEnders’ star Jake Wood, who has been crowned heat magazine’s ‘Weird Crush’ of 2015.
The snake-hipped actor, who plays Max Branning in the BBC soap, has topped the annual poll for the very first time, knocking last year’s winner, former ‘Xtra Factor’ host Matt Richardson, into fourth place.
Speaking about his win, Jake said he was doing it for all the ‘ginger, freaky looking guys with a sexy glint in their eyes’.
"I’m absolutely honoured,” he said. “It’s the award I wanted to win more than any other. I’m so happy I won.
"Thank you to the people that voted for me. I’m doing it for the weird crushes all over the world. Ginger, tall, freaky looking guys with a sexy glint in their eyes, that’s me."
Heat’s Editor-in-Chief, Lucie Cave, added: "heat's Weird Crush celebrates that fact that sexy comes in all shapes, sizes and degrees of hair loss – so we're delighted that our readers voted Jake Wood their winner.
“That he is both bald and red-headed, qualities seen by the foolish as a bar to hotness, is a ringing endorsement of the Weird Crush campaign."
Also making the Top 10 in the poll was comedian and ‘Eight Out Of Ten Cats’ host Jon Richardson, who reclaimed his second place.
"After slipping into fourth last year I'm delighted that I've managed to get some weirdness back into my game and surge back into the top two,” he said.
“Crucially this means of course that I qualify for Champions League Weird Crush. I am looking forward to travelling out to Zagreb with the lads to take on some of the weirdest men in Europe."
The past few months has seen the likes of Piers Morgan and Gary Lineker campaigning for a place in the coveted poll.
‘Pointless’ co-host Richard Osman, who won the trophy back in 2011, took to social media to plead: "Help me in my annual heat Weird Crush battle to prove I’m hotter than Piers Morgan."
In the end it was a no show for Piers Morgan (he only scored six votes) or Gary Lineker in the Top 25.
But a Richard Osman conceded:"Congratulations to Jake Wood, this win caps a sensational year for the lad. Quite happy to lose to Jake and Jon, and quite delighted to destroy Piers Morgan and David Cameron."
WEIRD CRUSH 2015 – THE TOP 25
- 1. Jake Wood
- 2. Jon Richardson
- 3. Richard Osman (winner, 2011)
- 4. Matt Richardson (winner, 2014)
- 5. Ed Sheeran
- 6. Paul Hollywood
- 7. Richard Ayoade
- 8. Peter Capaldi
- 9. Mark Jenkins
- 10. Greg Davies
- 11. Joe Wilkinson
- 12. Seth Rogen
- 13. Jimmy Carr
- 14. Macklemore
- 15. Dom Parker
- 16. Matt Edmondson
- 17. Dr Christian Jessen
- 18. Hugh Bonneville
- 19. Dynamo
- 20. Domhnall Gleeson
- 21. Matt Berry
- 22. Keith Lemon
- 23. Matthew Gravelle
- 24. Carl Fogarty
- 25. Judge Rinder
This week’s heat magazine is on sale now, visit www.heatworld.com for more.