Firstly, apologies for YET another thread on this but the main one about this issue is just a dive of hysteria at the moment and I wanted something a bit calmer!

Personally, I had no problem with John himself. He did nothing wrong at all. Neither, imo, did the judges. It would be unfair and unrealistic to expect them not to give their opinions on the contestants and their dancing. The people who voted for John because he was their vote - fair enough! Nothing wrong with that at all.

My whole problem with this 'saga' has been those voting for other reasons. Because they pitied John. Because they liked laughing at him. Because they felt the need to disagree with whatever the judges said just for the sake of it. Because they got in a huff over apparently being told who to vote for. Because they think it is somehow funny to keep him in and wanted the worst dancer to win.

It's those people who have left such a bitter taste on this whole competition because that was entirely against the spirit of the thing. These people aren't voting for their favourite. They're voting for some very unpleasent and often childish reasons.

John is right in a way - it would have made a mockery of the show had he won, not because he's the worst dancer, but because it could be easily argued they weren't voting FOR him but against something else.

Personally I'm annoyed and think he's done the wrong thing. He shouldn't have been allowed to walk out but it seems there's nothing they can do about it now - in fact I'm surprised they let him and it makes me suspicious that there's more to this than meets the eye. Perhaps he was struggling with the faster dances he had left (maybe he never intended to do them and now they've got this far there's a problem). Perhaps he simply doesn't like the implication that it's not just his dancing people are voting for. Perhaps he's just fed up with all the press blowing this out of proportion.

I hope he explains it more clearly because atm the reasoning does sound a little arrogant - 'I'm going to pull out because I'll probably win'...Not the best thing to say imo.

Understandable though I think - a way of hitting back at Arlene following her disgraceful comments on Monday...

I think he's pulled out because of how he is being treated left right and centre. The winning thing might just be an excuse he's come up with to avoid criticising anyone

Pity about you, people can vote for whatever reason they like, whether they are "stupid" reasons or not is a matter of opionion.

Or it might just be the truth.

If this was just a dance show then they would use real dancers and have no chat with the dancers. They want to make money out of the show and have it as entertainment so you have to have people vote for what they want to vote for X

How could they have stopped him?


But perhaps it's true. And perhaps someone who knows what the voting numbers were pointed it out to him.

(I agree with you about the voting, btw.)

lol but will people learn?

I don't think so.

Over to you Tess.

How do they make money out of it?

In any case, though it may not be purely a dance show, it is nonetheless still a dance show. The dancing ought to count for something.

I don't think it was arrogance - conscience, more like. He thinks he'll probably win because the voters are er, voting for him. He recognises that he'd win for the wrong reasons.

From selling the idea. Yes the dancing does matter a bit but it still isn't a dance show where the worst dancer should get kicked out. Why then have public votes ?

But that's purely speculation and we can't believe that over what he says.


And those stupid reasons are totally outside the spirit of the show and are ruining it. What lovely people those voters are...


He signed a contract - he can't just walk without their agreement.


I don't necessarily say it was arrogance but it unfortunately comes across a bit like that.

I voted for John. He tried and it was a fun watching him do his best and I also admired Kristina's choreography which compensated for his lack of agility.
The show is for entertainment not a serious dance competition. Trouble is that the BBC don't show much in the way of arts programmes with real dancing or musicians who actually play instruments. So I suppose those four judges saw this as their only way to get on't telleh with the huge BBC pay packet, if Jonathan Ross is anything to go by, to go with the job. Equally, out of the general viewing public, the real fans of dancing have had no choice to watch quality dancing on TV because there is very little of it if you can find it.
So I suppose the OP is referring to the likes of me who have casually enjoyed SCD for the "wrong reasons."
I have loved the live band on this show and I have loved the proffessionals in their dancing slots.
But SCD is a show to raise charity money and any programme which includes voting by the public is a hint as to what the majority of viewers find entertaining.
The OP's comments make me feel that I was not worthy of enjoying this programme because I was more interested in being entertained than being critical on every turn of the foot or head.
John entertained me. But so do the other dancers.
Is that wrong?

I don't get it. People shouldn't have voted the way that they did because you don't agree with their reasons, and John Sergeant shouldn't have been allowed to walk?

What???

John had the support of the masses, you cant deny that. People enjoyed his performance and people voted for him. Simple as.

Whoever the winner is now, its a hollow victory. John Sergeant will come to epitomise this series for the joy and warmth he baught to the show. For me the winner is irrelevant.

Maybe he can't "just walk" - there might be consequences - but he could walk nonetheless.

How bad would the contractual consequences be? It's not like he'd be going to prison. It might cost him some money, but he'd more than make up for it.

I suspect he has resigned because he was finding this week very tough. There were two dances to learn - a group disco dance as well as his own dance whatever that was going to be. It was a Latin number though and would have been fast (unless it was rumba). And I read somewhere that he was finding the choreography on Monday quite difficult when they were training for the group dance.

would you rather he said "im leaving because i feel ive been pushed out"
I actually think hes doing the producers a favouir here as if the truth is what i think it is ie he never imagined this uproar and feels a bit pushed out then there would be a major uproar to off com and the likes!

The dancing matters only "a bit"?

Perhaps someone should tell the celebs that, so they waste time on almost pointless dance training and instead just go out and "entertain" in whatever way suits their fancy.

Get rid of the judges too, of course.

And unless someone on here is privy to the terms of the contract, this whole point revolves around conjecture and speculation. We don't know whether there was a clause permitting a contestant to leave at any time under any cirumstances, or the opposite, or neither.

He's obviously got more sense than most of the numpties who kept voting for him. Good on you John, you did the right thing.

Just so. Yet post after post has insisted that the contract prevented John from leaving. And for some reason that meme persists even now that he's done what the contract supposedly prevented.

Exactly. In fact the Controller of BBC One has said:

"We are very sad to see him go...We would have liked him to stay but we respect his decision to leave".

Doesn't sound like he's about to be sued for breach of contract, but who knows? Apart from the usual internet experts of course...

All their contracts state they are free to pull out whever they want, but if they do they may forfeit some or all of their fee. They'd never get any celeb to appear if they HAD to stay contractually. same with all TV reality shows.

It can be denied though based on recent polls that suggest over 40% are voting to spite the judges not to necessarily to support him- whoever 'the masses' are anyway!

It would have been a hollow victory if he had won though also wouldn't it- and for many people it will be a victory of sanity over hype now!