John Sergeant quits Strictly

Posted by Nikki Scholey

John Sergeant has quit Strictly Come Dancing.

The former political journalist has come under severe criticism in recent weeks for his dancing skills and remaining in the competition when better dancers were voted off.

He's received strong public support since the show began but he has now decided to hang up his dancing shoes.

Sergeant, who was partnered with Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff said: "I am sorry to say I have decided to leave Strictly Come Dancing.

He added: "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

"It was always my intention to have fun on the show and I was hoping to stay in as long as possible."

He finished the statement by saying he would like "thank Kristina and all those viewers who have been rooting for me through the series".

One of the show's judges, Arlene Phillips, expressed her sadness at Sergeant's departure: "I'm always sad if a contestant leaves out of choice, because you are always expecting to let the public vote them in or out - but John is his own person and he has his own reasons for doing this," she told the BBC.

She also denied feeling responsible for his departure: "If you look back, we've actually been quite nice on this programme."

John Sergeant will appear on the show for the last time this Saturday.

Source: BBC

Was John right to resign? Have your say below

SEE ALSO:
Arlene's anger as John stays >>
Saturday's show >>

Comments

[Jennifer]

Good grief!! It's only a blooming TV programme!! Lets get this into some kind of perspective.

Who cares if he goes or stays?

Money has been raised for charity and thats all that matters in the end.

John is a very likeable chap, who dances like and Dad and proves that he enjoys every blasted minute of it.

What John has forgotton though is that by his leaving, the charity concerned will be missing out on a lots of charty donations via telephone votes.

[Karen]

If John hadn't have decided to go there would be all this fuss - the whole country don't want him back - I DONT -I have always watched strictly and part of the enjoyment factor is to see people getting better at dancing each week and the best one winner at the end - will the eventual winner this year have a bitter sweet victory! The whole show has been tainted by this whole episode - the judges are cruel to at least one person each series - where was the backlash then - and for people asking for their money back UNFORGIVEABLE - percentage of the money is for charity FOR CHILDREN IN NEED - are you only going to ask for the money that you spent on the actual call or are you going to include the money that would have been donated to charity as well. John wasnt a good dancer - but he shouldnt have left in the way he did - this strictly will be forever remembered for the one that left and I feel sorry for whoever wins - I dont know why they bother to train so hard each week - just put in a cute-sy performance and the viewing public will save you -apparently!

[Michael Spencer]

He did absolutely the right thing - why would anyone put up with the unjustified and vitriolic comments that he had to suffer, especially from the judges. John is not only above all this but also his great sense of humour maintained and sustained his dignity. I also feel very sorry for Kristina - what a special lady she is and hardly any compliments on the hard work she put in!! NOBODY deserves the rudeness that he had to put up with and by association to Kristina!!

[Anne Cleary]

I think everyone would want to remember the rules of the programme. John should have stayed, it was the public vote, I wont be watching again, and as for Bruce Forsythe he needs to go asap, we now need fresh blood and new faces.

[lorraine]

BRING BACK JOHN BACK AND KICK OUT CRAIG AND ARLENE the people should say who they like to say if people dont vote where is you show i thought it was for CHARITY I MUST OF BEEN WRONG IT MUST BE TO LINE THE BBC POCKETS i will not be watching the show anymore im glad the bullies got there way it the famous people give up there time for carity then they should be able to stay and finish of what they started instead ot been bullied out they make me sick

[Malcolm]

John sargent was OK for entertainment value, but at the end of the day it is supposed to be a "DANCING ABILITY SHOW ". If John was honest he didn,t in his wildest imagination think he would get this far -(lack of dance ability), so why was a cruise booked in the period covering the Strictly Come Dancing period.

[Charlie]

The B C C must acknowledge the criteria and level playing field that John was invited onto the show.

Under that criteria he should have stayed.

However because of the constant inappropriate comments leveled at him by the Judges, and in the best interest of the show he resigned with dignity

That was highlighted on Saturday when Led in a very sarcastic way on behalf of the judges wished John all the veto best for the future, in whatever he decided to do

John with excellent charm and dignity following his final dance

"Thanked the Judges for their contribution in encouraging the public in vote for him" "Nice one John"

When will the Judges realise that inappropriate remarks fuel the public to vote for who is at the receiving end of these remarks.

Example Is Christine the New John?

He resigned with dignity

[Lucy]

i cant believe John Sergent resigned from Strictly come dancing!!!!! he was pushed off the show by the judges. he might not have been that great, but he was entertaining and now everyone left in the competition takes it too seriously. BRING JOHN BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Michelle]

So he wasn't great. He certainly didn't deserve the barrage of abuse from the Judges. The more aggravated they become the more people will vote to annoy them. Don't they see this? It happened with Kate Garraway too. John tactfully backed out of the competition because he could see what would happen. He knows full well himself he's not the best dancer in the competition and I think is rather embarassed about the whole debacle. Yes it's a dance competition first and foremost, it's also reality TV. If people don't like it - then vote (or not if the case may be) - to have a realistic outcome! John was a gentleman throughout.

[Jack]

The judges on Strictly and the judges on XFactor are unprofessional egotistical children.

[berry]

Public is to blame for this. Indeed, it was fun to have John there during the first few weeks. But at a certain point it started spoiling the show, because it is about DANCING, in the end of the day. The best entertainment in this show is too see how unprofessional dancers can make such a huge progress in such a short time. It is a shame that, instead, some parts of the public decided to take advantage of the show to demonstrate their resistance to "authorities", i.e judges. Very childish indeed. And although it is just a show, it makes me wonder whether the same people would vote for a politician, who clearly does not suit the role - just for the sake of it?

[TED]

John should have resigned. It wasn't his fault, but he had to go.

[safiamay]

John should have stayed-he complied with the rules-I think they will be changed for next year. The public pay their licences, they can choose who they want.
"Freedom of speech and own rights" was fought for and that was what we all thought of on 11/11/08 at 11am.
Just because some jumped-up judges decide they aren't getting "their ways", they go and ruin it for everyone. Who made them the Elitists to decide what we, the public, want.
Anyway, won't be watching now, end of!!!!

[emma]

Its a tv show, not the end of the world!

[jean]

Was anyone else shocked by the comments of James Jordan on ITT last night? He seemed to be contradicting what he said on Monday in ,once again, an extremely unkind fashion. Most of the pro dancers have said little about John but James' comments show what an arrogant man he is-and he can't even speak the Queen's english.

[Anne]

I'm so pleased that John has finally gone...not before time!! I'm so sick of people saying he was there for the entertainment, maybe he was, but at the end of the day, it's a DANCING competition and by him being voted to stay each week, it just meant that a better dancer has been kicked out, which to me, seems very unfair. The judges are only doing their job, which is to be honest about the DANCING and score appropriately and people need to realise that.

[Anne]

I'm so pleased that John has finally gone...not before time!! I'm so sick of people saying he was there for the entertainment, maybe he was, but at the end of the day, it's a DANCING competition and by him being voted to stay each week, it just meant that a better dancer has been kicked out, which to me, seems very unfair. The judges are only doing their job, which is to be honest about the DANCING and score appropriately and people need to realise that.

[Charlie]

John was invited onto the entertainment show on the same level playing field as all of the other contestents.

He has applied the competition rules and conditions 100% professionally with dignity

HOWEVER: The JUDGES(All 4 of them) behaviour has been a DISCRACE with their inappropriate comments leveled at John.

Totally unprofessional and unpardonable.

The Judges position and remit must be reviewed and managed for the future

As under the current rules and conditions of the competition the mess that the B B C is now in, is due 100% to the lack of professionalism on the part of the JUDGES

[happynow]

I watched It Takes 2 last night and I am sorry, John had to go - this is a DANCING competition - the public who voted for John are to blame for this debacle; if he had gone into I'm A Celebrity then yes, it is on personality. All I could see from his interview last night was that he was leaving because he would get the best publicity out of it now rather than in a few weeks when the better dancers were leaving.

The Judges are there to judge the dancing and they were right it was awful and if the public had voted for dancing above his "vote for me coz I'm a cuddly chap" appeal then the show would have gone out as it should and the good dancers would not have been in the bottom two until the bad ones had left. I think that like the GMTV presenters, John would have reached his "sell by" date as the people who voted for the dancing would have inevitably voted in such a way that he would have been in the bottom two.

Arlene Phillips said that she didn't want anyone to "walk" but for them to be voted off in accordance with their dancing abilities - if this had been the case, John would have been history weeks ago.

James Jordan's call to vote for the best dancer was right in my opinion - he took it on the chin that he and Cherie were the worst of the two couples in the dance-off (even though they shouldn't have been!) and I admire him for voicing the opinion of the many viewers who had been voting for the dancing.

[agibson]

Very sorry for Kristina. Saw her in Dukinfield on Sunday and she was really enjoying it.

John should not have left because either he has let the bullies win which is always a bad example or he is scared of facing a dance off which is also a bad example. He signed up for the show and should have carried on.

The competition is now ruined with a two couple final over which the judges have too much influence like last year. A final of Alesha, Matt and Gethin may well have given a different result as Gethin was developing quite a following in the previous weeks.

Judges should have no say in the last two shows to compensate.

[dawnie]

only the public got themselves to blame for him walking, they should have got rid off him ages ago!!!! Bring back Cherie

[Polly]

As a fan of SCD I WILL be watching the show and voting for the dancer I think is the best. I think John is hilarious but he shouldn't be in a dancing competition.
Perhaps some of the people here should learn from John. He at least has demonstrated the meaning of fair play. How can it be fair to stay when people are saying they were voting for him to spite the judges? He did the only honorable thing and left the show as he knew that it would be very unfair if he won.
More insulting must surely be the suggestion that this well respected and highly intelligent political journalist would be intimidated and or allow himself to be bullied by judges in a dancing competition.
I am sure he will now be laughing all the way to the bank.

[jay]

Having watched the evening programmes about John Sargeant leaving Strictly Come Dancing, I can't believe how two-faced the judges are, having been incredibly rude and disparaging week after week, they now utter words of regret that he's leaving!! And as for the professionals!! After the acid request to the public from sour-faced Mr Jordan to vote for 'the dancing', we now have Mathew Cutler's pompous utterings about how he should stay - he really can't win. Of course JS should have gone much earlier, but the public voted him in, and surely that is what the show is about. It has become obviously that the ill feeling going on behind the scenes about his popularity is part of why JS decided to leave. Personally, after this I hope the BBC take off the programme and the judges and professional dancers lose their very lucrative jobs never to be seen again on our TV screens.

[Emily]

I was annoyed not only with the judges and professional dancers remarks towards John but also Bruce Forsyth contribution. His 20yr old wit aimed at John was uncalled for "Shame on you Bruce" Four generations of my family who voted for him would like their money back.

[Peter]

Do the decent thing and resign Arlene, how can you show your face again!