Dance rivals livid, but public love John Sergeant’s two left feetJohn Sergeant, arguably the least talented person ever to feature in a talent contest, moved closer to the Strictly Come Dancing final last night on a wave of public support.
The 64-year-old political journalist, whose hapless dancefloor antics have seen housewives take him to their hearts, again finished bottom of the judges’ rankings but was propelled into the next round by a public vote that saw the actress Cherie Lunghi dumped out of the BBC competition.
Sergeant may be vastly popular with the public, but his continued presence, at the expense of Lunghi, 56, who had been a favourite to win the contest, has won him few friends among Strictly’s celebrity contenders and their professional dance partners.
The cast usually stick up for each other in public, but James Jordan, Lunghi’s dance partner, broke ranks yesterday to beg viewers to end Sergeant’s run in the competition. Visibly annoyed after being told that he and Lunghi were out of the show, Jordan said: “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.”
TimesonLine