I was just looking back at the DOI voting statistics and he topped the public vote quite a few times but I don't remember him that well. I thought he was just an average skater, but was he really good or something? It's not like he was a household name either so his celebrity status probably wasn't the thing that kept him in. He wasn't a young, white guy either so it's unlikely he was getting the teen girls vote.

I'm struggling to remember what was so special about him

He had a VC - he was endearing, but not the worlds greatest skater

I'm surprised he picked up lots of votes for that. I know it's a big and noble achievement but it's not something I would've thought would make viewers feel compelled to vote for him.

VC = national hero in a lot of peoples eyes

Quite frankly I'd be surprised if any serving soldier didn't have a significant level of support.

Plus he obviously was battling back from significant injury so plenty of reasons why he would have had a big level of support.

Any mother who has ever seen her son go off to war for starters.

And the skating helped his recovery - he had regained the feeling and function in a damaged leg by the end of the series.

Ah I see Thanks for explaining!

Given brain injury he did well to be able to learn and remember routines IIRC.

A living VC is about as rare as they come. He also suffered devastating head injuries and had to learn to do everything for himself. The fact that he walked again after what he went through is amazing, never mind learning to skate.

My OH has done some exhibition work with him and has also watched him give a talk to a bunch of schoolchildren about how he turned his life around before joining the army. OH said he is incredibly inspiring to watch and a nice, humble bloke to boot. The kids were all in awe of him especially when one of them asked where they'd seen him before and he said he'd done DOI and they all went crazy!

And he was a better skater than Todd and some of the other jokers despite his injury. Respect

That was definitely a big factor. As much as we all love to see brilliant skating, a lot of us love to see people learning to skate and see people who started off as a non-dancer, non-acrobatic, non-actor transform from a shaky start into something respectable.

IMO, so long as those contestants are putting the work in, I've always been happy for them to remain longer than some of the competent, but not spectacular, stage school types who had a higher starting level.

He stayed in because he's brave, resourceful, and battled back from horrific injuries to achieve something new and what must have seemed impossible at the start, he's a real hero, unlike most of the plastic celebs they get on the telly.

He also comes across as being really nice.

Because he is black. And because he has a surname that is neither Barry nor Harry.

I think the progress that he made is also very relevant. When we first saw him on the ice, he wore a helmet, looked terrified and was more unsteady than Todd Carty.
He worked really hard, and although he was kept in longer than his ability would suggest, he made remarkable progress and was a decent skater by the end.

Good comment - agree entirely.

You often hears the 'celebs' and th Judges talk of being on a 'journey'. Johnson showed them all what a real journey was and is.


Much respect!

He definitely deserved his place more than Kerry frigging Katona!

I totally agree, and I seem to recall her being renamed to Carry Katona on here.

I also seem to recall quite a few "How come he's still in when a better skater's gone home??" threads and posts about Johnson at the time.

i wished he'd been in this series. he was wonderful and inspiring and it helped him....i thought he was just the kind of role model that is needed on tv...not relaity tv bods.

Agreed.

I like Todd, but Johnson would put his performances to shame. The guy was an inspirational skater. No, he wasn't the best but, to see his progression from week 1 really was a journey worth watching.

He's the only skater to whom I have been emotionally attached. I was nervous for him every week, and as long as he performed his routine I picked up the phone.

It's a shame he's not in the "All Stars" because it would have been good to see him again.

We saw Johnson on the tour in Sheffield and he did a good job there as well.