First and foremost, this is a dance contest. The idea is that the best dancer wins: you take your standard celebrities and teach them how to ballroom dance. The celebrities are out of their comfort zone and some excel, whilst others fail. Strictly Come Dancing is not a popularity contest: otherwise we could have the celebrities doing all kinds of crazy performances. A similar instance occurred in the X Factor: fantastic singers like Laura White are being voted off the show and keeping singers such as Daniel Evans in the show because he was supposedly receiving the ‘sympathy vote’. John Sergeant is receiving the popularity vote, despite being a terrible dancer.

X Factor is obviously a lot more serious than Strictly because these are normal people fighting for their dreams. And surely Strictly is an entertainment programme, not a dance contest? John Sergeant was the most entertaining character from the show and the show will certainly miss his sense of humour and consistent efforts each week.

The continued support from the public ensured Sergeant stayed in the competition at the expense of others. The competition has now reached a stage where, bar Sergeant, all those remaining are accomplished dancers with a shot at taking home the trophy. Cherie Lunghi was dumped out of the BBC competition, who had been a favourite to win the contest. It is simply not fair that mediocre dancers stay in and the good ones go out of the competition! One senior show insider said that he thought the public would now put an end to the joke: “People at home will see that the competition has got to the stage that those getting kicked out at the expense of John had a real chance of winning”. (1) If he did not resign, he would harm the chances of others who truly deserve to win.

(1) http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5167807.ece

The contestants do not necessarily ‘deserve’ to win: the public votes for who they like and that is that. If the show was not happy with that, then why allow the public to vote?

I would imagine that one of the reasons the celebrities enter the competition was for fun! But it was no longer fun for Sergeant and he was absolutely right to resign. The camaraderie that exists on the show started to peter out for Sergeant when Cherie Lunghi left: none of the performers made eye contact with Sergeant and instead embraced Lunghi as she was clearly distressed to be leaving. The contestants would resent Sergeant if he remained in the competition.

Let us not forget that this is only a TV show used to launch publicly-dead celebrity’s careers. If any resentment is felt, it is because these nobodies are not getting the publicity and attention they think they deserve. But who the public like is who the public like. Stick an unlikeable person in a dress and get them to spin as fast as you like, but if the public do not like them the public do not like them. John Sergeant should have continued despite any resentment from other contestants, if only to give the snobby nobodies what they deserve.

The whole point of getting the public to vote is to involve the masses into cultured debate. The show aims to bring the love of traditional dancing to the public, to incite their passion. If it were purely a popularity contest, why note just vote on a free online poll? Get the celebrities to stand still while we look over them and make a decision? No, it is a dancing show aimed to getting people to appreciate dancing and be critical of dance moves. The fact John Sergeant quit now means that the public’s votes will not be jaded by popularity but will be an objective opinion about the dancing on display. Hurrah.

Sergeant should not have resigned because he was so popular with the public. He was a 64-year-old man, the oldest in the competition. Sergeant represented the elderly gentleman who wanted to jazz up his retirement years. He did not take himself too seriously and did not take the show too seriously: exactly the way it ought to be. The voting system allows you to vote for your favourite, not for the best dancer. If such controversy was expected to arrive over John Sergeant, then the winner should be chosen by the learned judges’, not by the public who are bound and expected to have favourites that might not always be the most talented.

The judges are not bullying Sergeant – they are simply telling him the truth! The judges would say the same to any of the other dancers if they were the least talented in the competition. It is their job to criticise the dancing and cause some controversy: which is what makes it an entertaining programme.

It is arguable that Sergeant should not have retired because this demonstrates him giving into the bullying. The judges did criticise Sergeant’s talents, as is their purpose, but they do not have to be so personal about it. Arlene Phillips called Sergeant ‘a dancing pig’ (1) which is absolutely a ‘step’ too far! Sergeant should not have left the show and stayed in just to prove a point to the bullying judges.

(1) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/3477286/Strictly-Nearly-half-of-fans-voted-for-John-Sergeant-to-annoy-judges.html

If Sergeant had become such a victim, then it is only right that he resign so that he does not suffer this label. He clearly knew he was not a very good dancer and left, quite rightly.

Sergeant had become a victim on the show of Strictly Come Dancing: bullied by the judges, shunned by the other celebrities and becoming a bit of a laughing stock. Yet why should he be forced to resign? He has just as much right to be there as any of the others; tries just as hard each week to perform and does so with dignity. Sergeant should not have been made to feel like he needed to resign from the show.

If David Cameron is voting on and watching Strictly Come Dancing due to John Sergeant then it is a good thing that John Sergeant left. Maybe now Cameron will concentrate on his less than impressive policies and his dwindling party popularity.

Perhaps this is not the most valid point, but celebrities were inspired by Sergeant’s determination to become a success in Strictly and even the Queen of Saturday Night television, Cilla Black, was voting for him! David Cameron added: “Strictly will not be the same without him”. (1)

(1) http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5193474.ece