| John Sergeant pulls out of Strictly |
| Wednesday, 19 November 2008 16:37 | |||
|
John Sergeant has pulled out of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing after weeks of controversy. In a statement he said: “I am sorry to say I have decided to leave Strictly Come Dancing. "It was always my intention to have fun on the show and I was hoping to stay in as long as possible. The trouble is that there is now a real danger that I might win the competition. “Even for me that would be a joke too far.” He will still dance on Saturday's show as a final farewell to fans. Thanks to huge public backing, the former political journalist - partnered by with Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff - has survived the eviction process each week despite a mauling from the judges over his lack of dancing skills. Just yesterday, this week’s loser Cheri Lunghi blasted the 64-year-old and said the show was turning into a soap opera because of his survival. She said: "“It is almost like there are two shows going on. John is dancing and competing, but there is this whole soap thing and sympathy for the character.” A recent poll found four in 10 viewers were voting for John to rile the judges - a view back by West End star John Barrowman. He told Mirror.co.uk he believed people could be backing John as "a dig" to the show. Earlier this week, Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips claimed that, instead of rehearsing, Sergeant "sits and reads the Guardian". The veteran broadcaster came bottom of the score table for the third week in a row with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff but the pair were again saved by the public vote. Phillips, who has been a fierce critic of Sergeant's performances, told the BBC: "There is nothing that is correct about his performance. His posture's wrong, his feet are turned in, he hasn't got the rise and fall, his head's on one side. "In terms of dance, everything is wrong with it. When the performers and celebrities put hours in the studio they are constantly working. They do not sit down, and I know with John he sits and reads the Guardian. "I think a lot of the time he and his partner spend fooling around. We've never had anyone this bad who has gone this far. It is a little bit disheartening when the public are voting for a non-dancing Mickey Rooney." A string of groups were been set up on social networking website Facebook in support of Sergeant, who dropped as low as 16-1 with some bookmakers to win the competition. But Phillips, 64, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "I personally would like to see him off the show. I would be desolate if he won." John said he wanted to "thank Kristina and all those viewers who have been rooting for me through the series." BBC One controller said today Jay Hunt said: "We are very sad to see him go." Source
|
