Another lucky escape for John Sergeant
Monday, November 17th, 2008
John Sergeant, the political correspondent whose hapless dancefloor antics on Strictly Come Dancing have earned him the nickname of a “dancing pig in Cuban heels”, has moved a step closer to winning the dance contest on a wave of public support.
Despite finishing bottom of the judges’ rankings, the rotund 64-year-old and his dance partner Kristina Rihanoff were voted back into the next round by a doting public, whilst the actress Cherie Lunghi became the latest celebrity to leave the show.
Sergeant may be popular with the viewing public, but his continued presence on the show is beginning to irk his fellow contestants, who have given their support to Lunghi, a professionally-trained dancer who had been tipped to win the contest. Breaking with protocol, Lunghi’s dance partner James Jordan yesterday expressed exasperation at the result: “I think Cherie had a lot more to show. This is supposed to be a dance contest. Please, please, people at home, vote for the dancing.”
On camera it was all smiles, but off stage celebrities and their dance partners commiserated with Lunghi, whilst barely exchanging a glance with Sergeant and Rihanoff.
Sergeant finished bottom of the judges ranking for the third week in a row with his interpretation of the American Smooth. The dance, which scored just 25 out of 40, was greeted with rapturous applause by the studio audience, but failed to impress the judges. Arlene Phillips offered the greatest compliment, describing Sergeant as “quite endearing,” but urged voters not to vote him into the final. Len Goodman was less tolerant, saying last week that Sergeant’s continued success “made a nonsense of the show”.
It would seem that an online campaign is partly responsible for Sergeant’s sustained popularity. Twelve Facebook groups have been created in support of Sergeant, including one named John Sergeant to win Strictly Come Dancing 2008! which has over 500 members.
