Mel B favourite for US dance win

Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovskiy won the judges' backing

Spice Girl Mel B is the favourite to win US TV show Dancing with the Stars after a high-scoring penultimate round.

The pop star was supported by her bandmates in Los Angeles as she outperformed her rivals, including singer Marie Osmond.

Mel B's professional dance partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, called her "one of my prize students" who had "improved 100%" during their 10-week partnership.

The winner of the series will be announced on Tuesday in the US.

Ratings hit

Chmerkovskiy added: "She went from somebody who just had rhythm to having the guts to come out and do this."

The pair scored 55 out of a possible 60 points with their cha-cha and freestyle dances, closely followed by racing driver Helio Castroneves and his partner Julianne Hough.

Mel B's Spice Girl bandmates were in the studio to support her

In the final show, one of the remaining three couples will be eliminated in the early stages, leaving the final two pairs to slug it out for the trophy.

The series began with 12 pairings of celebrities and professional dancers.

And the programme - the US version of Britain's Strictly Come Dancing - has proved a ratings hit, regularly capturing in excess of 20 million viewers.

The couples' scores are determined by a combination of the judges' scores and viewers' votes.

Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli act as judges on both the US and UK shows, which have been running concurrently for several weeks.