It had all the trappings of a big political resignation. A snap press conference, screened on Sky News, hordes of journalists whispering conspiracy theories, Jeremy Paxman barking questions and an instant reaction from Lord Mandelson.

"There was a real danger I could win the show. Even for me that would be a joke too far," he said.

But there was no way Paxman, installed on the front row, was taking that for an answer. "Are you a man or a mouse?" he bellowed, temporarily diverting the rage he usually reserves for prevaricating politicians on to his journalistic colleague. "Mice don't dance like I have been dancing," was Sergeant's riposte.

Explaining why he was throwing in the towel, Sergeant said: "We had fun dancing, and dancing is a wonderfully enjoyable thing, but if the joke wears thin - if people begin to take things very seriously, and if people are getting so wound up that it is very difficult to carry on the joke - then it is time to go." He had jumped, and was not pushed, the BBC confirmed. They had begged him to stay, but to no avail.

He will not be replaced by Cherie Lunghi, the contestant he deposed last Saturday. "No one could return to take his place," said a spokeswoman. The schedules are not in disarray: the final will now simply feature two contestants instead of three.

He has become the people's John Travolta and he should be a fighter, not a quitter," said Mandelson.

Full Story http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008...-john-sergeant

Greytop you have done a fantastic job in putting this thread together, thank you.

Around the Westminster village yesterday politicians, journalists, waitresses and on-duty policemen were as startled as everyone else to learn that their old friend, John Sergeant, had withdrawn from Strictly Come Dancing.

In the excitement over 64-year-old Sergeant's amazing success on SCD, what has often been overlooked is that he was a comic actor before he was ever a political journalist - an Equity member before an NUJ member, as he sometimes puts it, appearing in an early Alan Bennett hit, the TV revue On the Margin, at just 22. Career uncertainty later edged him back into journalism via the Liverpool Daily Post.

But Sergie has had the last laugh.

Already a familiar figure on lecture and cruise ship circuits, his skilful handling of his exit from SCD will ensure lucrative celebrity status for some time to come.

Full Story http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008...lism-withdraws

The BBC was being bombarded by thousands of complaints from Strictly Come Dancing fans today after 'dancing pig' John Sergeant quit the competition.

Millions of viewers have threatened to boycott the show after his shock decision to leave yesterday because 'the joke was wearing thin'.

A huge audience is expected to tune in for his emotional last dance with partner Kristina Rihanoff on Saturday but many viewers have said they will then switch off.

One Strictly source said last night: 'It is no secret that John's success on the show has infuriated the judges. They feel John's failure to be voted off makes the show farcical and them look foolish. It has been a real issue over the past two weeks.'

Another senior BBC insider said: 'I think it is fair to say that while everyone loves John this is our flagship entertainment show.

One former member of the Strictly team said: 'The BBC have completely overreacted to the issue. This will blow up in their face because it will make them look mean-spirited.'

Full Story/Photos/Comments/Cartoon http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ncing-Pig.html

News that John Sergeant has kicked off his dancing shoes will have the Strictly Come Dancing judges breathing a collective sigh of relief. They had spent weeks briefing against the 64-year-old, huffing that Strictly "is a dancing competition" and urging viewers at home to show him the door

The truth is, the audience were less entertained by Sergeant than by watching the increasingly stony faces of the judges, pressing their buttons at home to prevent him being voted off. This tells us something interesting about these experiments in electronic democracy. TV programmes in which viewers are invited to vote now enjoy the attentions of millions. And in many cases, viewers seem to get their kicks out of sticking two fingers up to authority and sabotaging the whole show.

Full story http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...rictly-dancing

Thank you - Glad you have enjoyed keeping up with the events of the week on this subject.

Just in case folk don't know this thread is a spin off to my normal thread Everything SCD at http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...3#post28908653

With this story being the major one of the week I think the normal thread would have been updated so quickly people would not have been able to follow all the Strictly news.

I would like to say a big thank you to all who have read and posted. It is nice to see some new names posting as well as the normal gang from my usual thread.

Thanks Juile

Here is what you suggested It was on page 3 message 36!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1953309.ece

More than three quarters of The Sun’s readers think John Sergeant was wrong to waltz off Strictly yesterday.

77 per cent of the 3,640 people who responded to our poll about the 64-year-old journalist’s exit from the series, think he should not have left.

His departure came after the BBC1 show’s four judges – Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel-Horwood – all urged viewers to vote John off the show.

Since he left, fellow Strictly stars – including Andrew Castle and Heather Small – have said Strictly will be worse off without him, while others have criticised the judges for “bullying” him out of it.

But, as our poll shows, most people think John is at fault for going.

He and dance partner Kristina Rihanoff will return to Saturday’s show for a final dance.

The Screaming Lord Sutch of the dancefloor

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008...geant-strictly

http://www.heatworld.com/Article/807...%93+Fri+21+Nov

20,000 fans complain over John Sergeant:
Well, we'd never have guessed that Strictly would end up causing this amount of scandal when it first appeared on our screens, but unbelievably, the BBC have now received over 20,000 complaints over Sergeant-gate. Calls and messages on the BBC's website have flooded in in disgust at John leaving the show after Arlene Phillips branded him "a dancing pig" and a special website has been set up, bringbackjohn.co.uk, with 10,000 people signing the petition. Despite the BBC saying people who voted for John can have their money reimbursed, it looks like fans won't be happy till John returns to the show – which looks highly unlikely, especially now it's been revealed that John's wife of 40-years Mary hated "the fame game" and wasn't overly keen on John being on the show in the first place. Oh well. At least they can see him do his final dance with partner Kristina Rihanoff tomorrow – the show is expected to get a massive audience.

Here is another one

http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/t...s-1548621.html

Viewers also flooded phone lines and messageboards demanding his return.

The Beeb was forced to close part of the Strictly website after being overwhelmed by upset fans.

And more than 10,000 have signed up online at www.bringbackjohn.co.uk to call for his return.

Yesterday the political journalist defended his decision to go on an all-expenses-paid cruise next week after critics claimed it was the real reason he quit.

And he insisted he was prepared to cancel the trip if he had stayed on the hit show.

He said: “I intend to go on a cruise with P&O but this had nothing to do with my decision to leave Strictly Come Dancing.”

Beeb chiefs expect Sergeant’s last appearance tomorrow — attempting a waltz with Kristina Rihanoff — to thump rival X Factor in the ratings.

But yesterday they refused to say whether he would still trouser the full appearance fee.

Full Story http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1955766.ece

IT was war on BBC Breakfast today when Strictly dancer Karen Hardy blasted Chris Parker for sticking up for John Sergeant.

Ex-EastEnders star Chis, who made it through to the finals of the first series with partner Hanna Karttunen, said he felt the judges had been too harsh on John who was called a 'dancing pig in Cuban heels' by Arlene Phillips.

Full Story http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1952448.ece

A firm dislike of the limelight by John Sergeant's wife may have played a part in his decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing.

While the former political journalist relishes his increased celebrity, it is not something shared by Mary Sergeant.

She has steadfastly avoided attending any of the TV shows and her disdain of the 'fame game' is understood to have influenced Sergeant's decision to quit the Saturday night show.

But his wife of almost 40 years - who he described as 'the rock of my life' in his autobiography - is believed to have found the growing media interest around them unwelcome. The former teacher and mother of their two grown up sons was also not warming to the probability of further exposure that winning the contest would have brought.

Full Story http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...ctly-exit.html

says John Humphrys

The invitation was renewed a couple of years later and, once again, I said thanks, but no thanks. Why, in heaven's name, would I expose myself to the sniggers, the guffaws, and the outright ridicule of my friends and colleagues by prancing around a ballroom on national television while the nation hid its collective face in embarrassment?

There were so many reasons not to do it:

I'm meant to be a reasonably serious journalist.

I'm too old.

I can't dance.

I don't exactly have the matinee idol looks or physique of your professional lounge lizard.

I'd look ridiculous in white tie and tails with a stunning young woman dressed in almost nothing wrapped around me.

The professional judges would tear me to shreds.

The invitation went to John Sergeant too. He had just as many reasons to turn it down as me but he, as the whole world now knows, accepted - and he has never made a better judgment in his long career.

If there's a more popular man in Britain than Sargie I've yet to meet him. And if his curtain call on BBC One tomorrow night does not get the biggest television audience since Princess Diana went on Panorama to confess her marital transgressions, then my name's Fred Astaire.

But of course John had something going for him that's denied to most of us: he is a natural comedian.

Full Story http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...-Humphrys.html

Furious viewers yesterday bombarded the BBC with complaints over John Sergeant’s quitting Strictly Come Dancing.

Nearly 10,000 have contacted the Beeb in disgust at the withdrawal of the veteran political reporter dubbed the dancing pig by the show’s judges.

Millions of viewers have threatened to boycott the show after his shock decision to leave this week because “the joke was wearing thin”.

His emotional last dance with partner Kristina Rihanoff on Saturday is expected to attract a huge audience of adoring fans. And many viewers have said they will then switch off in protest.

More than 8,000 complained about Sergeant’s departure on the BBC’s message board yesterday.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/lates...5875-20911511/

The BBC must kiss goodbye to £1million in refunds for Strictly Come Dancing fans who voted for John Sergeant.



But PR bosses say Sergeant, dubbed the Dancing Pig, will waltz all the way to the bank.

Experts reckon he will rake it in at public appearances and after-dinner speeches now he has quit the show. He has already been booked to dance on a Caribbean cruise for £10,000.

A spokesman for Kruger Cowne, which promotes Sergeant, said: “Without a shadow of a doubt people will want to listen to the inside story about his time on the show. He could quite possibly charge up to £15,000 now.

“He has always been a very funny and entertaining speaker but now there’s this added element.”

But the backlash hit BBC bosses last night. First they promised to refund anyone who had voted for him and then angry fans vowed to boycott the show.

Around 3.5million are thought to have spent either 80p calling from a mobile or 15p from a landline.

Lovable Sergeant, 64, walked out of the hit show after saying “the joke had gone too far”.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/vie...e-re-pig-sick/

Sorry if this has been posted before - I can't see it. It is the section of '8 out of 10 cats' with Claudia where they talk about JS. They do swear, if that bothers people.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-HO-GfD011Y

The BBC was facing a ballroom blitz last night as fans boycotted Strictly Come Dancing over John Sergeant’s walkout.

And thousands more went online to rage about their hero’s decision to quit.

Heidi Thomas McGann wrote on Facebook group John Sergeant To Win Strictly Come Dancing 2008: “I’m appalled. He has been bull-ied and hounded into this.”

And Mary Auld, of Southport, added: “Everybody should boycott the show.

“It should be taken off television. I won’t watch it again.”

The scandal grew more serious last night as MPs got involved.

Tory Nigel Evans said: “I can’t see what the logical reason is for John to go. I hope there is not a smoking gun in any of the top executives’ hands on this.

John has promised a farewell dance with partner Kristina Rihanoff, 29, on Saturday’s show.

They have rehearsed a routine to Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor. John revealed: “It ends with me firing imaginary bullets at the judges.”

Bookies promised last night they would refund bets on him winning.

They had been braced for huge payouts if he went all the way.

Last night Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison admitted: “To say we’re relieved is an understatement.”

Full Story http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/vie...ing-pig-to-go/

Clearly suffering from a lack of anything proper to talk about, Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been flooding the show's messageboards to complain about John Sergeant's very sensible decision to bail from the time-wasting reality show before it completely destroyed his last remaining threads of dignity. Not content with unleashing an unnecessarily malicious and humourless pack of dance judges on the public's favourite Paso Doblist, the BBC decided in its infinite wisdom to take the Strictly Come Dancing messageboard offline at 10pm last night because it couldn't handle the volume of comments. Monkey pities the poor comments moderators - and thinks that nasty Arlene Phillips woman should be put on the team as punishment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/medi...cing-realitytv

Greytop: At this point I think we should thank Digital Spy as they have coped very well with all the extra traffic and new threads in the Strictly forums over the last few days.

John Sergeant: Strictly out of order ... or not?

Has John Sergeant’s shock decision to pull out of TV’s Strictly Come Dancing contest finished off this year’s series? As the unlikely star prepares to take one last turn around the Strictly dancefloor tomorrow night — just to say goodbye — two writers take part in their very own dance-off ...


http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/en...-14072234.html

Here is the clip in question


Thanks to Katie who is over Breakfast reporter over in my normal thread. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...1#post28926444

Thank you for finding this Gill

Sir, Commentators have got it wrong about John Sergeant and Strictly Come Dancing (reports, Nov 20). It is precisely the tension between the show’s two roles — as a dance contest on the one hand and light entertainment on the other — that is at the root of its popularity. Although every series so far has seen at least one celebrity contender kept in by public votes despite appalling dancing, and better contestants knocked out in favour of the underdog, so far the winners have been truly worthy. Nor are the judges to blame for their trenchant comments and low marks; it is their role to judge dancing ability alone, and the clarity and indeed rudeness of their remarks are fundamental to the show.

In previous series ability has triumphed eventually, when the public finally gave up on underdog support and started to vote for the good dancers. This might have happened this year, too, but there was a different feel about this contest. Light entertainment was beginning to overwhelm the dance contest, and both elements of the show are essential.

Val Horsler

Deal, Kent

Sir, The blame for the John Sergeant saga lies squarely with the producers of the programme. A 64-year-old novice in no great state of physical fitness could have been included in a dancing competition only for his comedy value. It can’t then be a surprise when he attracts votes for precisely that reason.

Any competition has to make up its mind whether it is serious or not. Hedging your bets leads only to ill-feeling and hurt in the end.

Bob Yule

London E14

Sir, John Sergeant was entertaining and now by, in effect, stipulating that this competition can be won only by someone who is young, beautiful and drama school trained the BBC has killed the show. If we wanted to simply watch technically gifted dancers then Come Dancing would still be on the television.

Steven J. Scates

London W4

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle5200499.ece

If that was the case, would his wife be ashamed of him for driving a lawn mower some months back on The one show