Words fail me, really (which might be a blessed relief for some of you). Yes, John Sergeant steps down from Strictly Come Dancing, saying:
“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.”
Well God bless Mr Sergeant for falling on his sword for the sake of the show when really, he didn’t have to. He clearly thinks it’s for the best in the final few weeks of the ‘competition’, and I guess we have to respect that.
But I do get the whiff of something else going on in the background here, that Sergeant was perhaps pushed in the face of foot stamping histrionics from certain people behind the scenes. I’m not fixing anybody specifically with a Paddington hard stare (COUGH Arlene COUGH), and this is complete supposition on my part. But I can have my suspicions, can’t I?
The whole thing makes me very sad as it makes a mockery of the show’s format. If you want purely a dance competition, get rid of the phone vote - and thereby lose 5 million viewers in a heartbeat. But clearly, that’s not going to happen.
Is this the day that Strictly Come Dancing jumped the shark? Time will tell…
Did you see "Strictly Takes Two" last night ? The hypocrisy of Arlene, Craig & James Jordan beggars belief. Arlene said she never wanted him to go. Craig accused John of being a coward & James actually said that John was being selfish & trying to make it all about him. No - he's just sick of your bullying & the way it's incited the press.
Also reading between the lines of what John actually said, I got the feeling that unpleasant remarks had been made by other contestants - though whether by the celebrities or professionals, I don't know.
I hope John gets a TV oppurtunity more suited to his talents !
I will miss John. We made good entertainment, however I think he has definitely made the right choice.
...I really don't see how people can say JS was "bullied" off by the judges etc. Firstly, he has stood his ground in the political world for years and the idea that he could be bullied is laughable. Secondly, the judges have been just as harsh about contestants in previous years and no one accused them of bullying then! Really this whole thing has got out of hand. Let's all settle down and enjoy the show for what it is please - and by the way that's a dancing competition as well as light entertainment.