Well I have to agree that the article is a load of hyped up rubbish.

I was at the party after the show last week and many of the couples who supposedly don't get on, according to this article, were chatting away quite happily with each other. Trust me, it was a big room, they could easily have chosen not to socialise together without it looking obvious if they had wished to.

No animosity at all seen between Brendan and Craig, both came across very happy and just having a good time.

This article is pretty accurate.

Just out of interest - how do you know?

He wasn't driven out - he's cruising out

Spelling wise, at any rate

Ha! like it

The Mail is The Sun trying to sound posh. End of.

There is no point leaving a comment that challenges the rubbish the Daily Mail prints. I tried on an earlier 'Strictly expose' () and they didn't include it - because, like you, I challenged the veracity of what they'd written.

The Daily Mail has established a reputation for writing 'stories' about Strictly that are full of lies. This is just another one in a long line. Its target isn't any of the people named in the article - it's the BBC itself.

The Mail doesn't actually care whether John Sergeant is in the competition or not. What they've spotted is an opportunity to stir up hatred against the BBC via Strictly - just as they leapt on Ross/Brand recently with the same goal in mind. We have heard the truth from John Sergeant himself - but clearly that is not enough for some sad, warped minds with their own poisonous agendas ... :yawn::sleep:

All this does is upset everyone, from die-hard members of Sergeant's army who are (understandably) defensive of their favourite, to other contestants' supporters, and fans of the show as a whole.

Only one decent thing to do with a copy of the Daily Mail: burn it.

The irony is of course it seems that the press intrusion played a rather large part in John's decision to quit and by speculating why he quit the Mail is simply dragging that on...

I thought at the time that he didn't want to look in the wrong, what with the age gap and so on.

another rubbish story from a rubbish newspaper.

That makes a nice change. Daily Mail journalists seem to be hopeless both at spelling and at fact-checking lately. Journalists are supposed to be impeccable at both and the fact they're not makes me want to slap them.

I suppose they don't bother with fact checking since they don't actually write anything that has any basis in reality.

I've just been watching ITT and was quite surprised when Arlene, during the group dance rehersal, said it was strange to be so close to them as she doesn't usually have this much to do with them. I thought that the dancers, celebs and the judges all socialized after the show? Has Arlene let the cat out of the bag?

I thought that as well. I'm sad to say that regardless of who wins this year the show has been tarnished by this. The whole thing got way out of control and maybe the producers should have had the "clear the air" talks a LOT sooner.

Yeah like that has ever been a reason to quit something.

Agreed, the article does no more than state what is already a nationwide perception, that SCD stands for Spitefully Come Dancing.

I do think all the evidence for this lies before our very eyes.

JS's choice of words on leaving. The backstage interview with Brendan and Lisa. He did sound genuinely accepting of that being the way the show is. Lisa looked like she was spitting feathers. Jame's revolt. Cheries interviews. Reports from those at the show that JS was shunned after Cherie left.

Strangely this whole series started like this with comments about Darren and Jessie Wallace - well, they have now been gone a long time!

I don't think there is one specific reason TBH - probably a whole raft of factors, some of which we may not be aware of. Examples include the BBC trying to drum up contoversy and bungling it, and conversly JS himself thinking he's able to ride the crest of the controversy wave and not judging it properly. I don't think he helped himself by not distancing himself from the Moyles campaign to get radio 1 listeners to sock one to the judges for the sake of it. Many of the people who phoned in might never have seen the show, but voted anyway.

One of the unwritten rules of SCD is that there will be controversy each year from the joker in the pack, but ultimately the winner is someone who is a worthy winner and that the shock evictions don't really matter. That way three quarters of the shows can be vote for your favourite even if they can't dance, and the last bit is a serious competition. It has therefore been both a popularity contest AND a serious dance contest complete with the obilgatory journeys and controversies.

It's all got a bit out of hand this year, and hopefully the BBC will learn to manage the storyline better next year. I also hope that the main reasons JS departed was for the benefit of the show in compliance with the unwritten rules. I just don't think that's entirely the case unfortunately. He could have engineered himself a better exit, but didn't.

James Jordan's name was not mentioned in the article but even you must agree that he had it in for Sergeant

will you be kind enough to tell me how John and Kristina were treated by the other contestants including the judges. Thanks

Did John and Kristina go to the after show party?

Yes, John and kristina both went to the party afterwards and were chatting to all the other dancers and celebs. Cherie was in high spirits despite what had happened. I saw no evidence whatsoever there of any bad feeling between anyone and no one being "off" with either of them. In fact, sorry to say but the only person there at all who wasn't willing to mix the non celebs, even for a few minutes, seemed to be John who's had to rely totally on the public's votes surprisingly. I was a bit disapointed in him to be honest but will give him the benefit of the doubt as it was not long after the show.
For all the press say about his attitude and image, by far the friendliest, nicest and most sociable person there was Brendan.

Of the judges, only Craig was there and he too was having a great time mixing with everyone. Saw Len just before the show, he's so much taller than I expected.
Last edited by Totally Vocal 2 : 22-11-2008 at 12:55

Thank you.

On a positive note, I do think Brendan has really got it. I was never a fan of his although I didn't dislike him he did irritate me. However, he has grown in savvy over the years and now he is with Zoe he has calmed down and seems really happy as well. I do think he and Lisa have a mutual respect, which helps.

Thanks a lot, TV2

Nothing will convince me that James didn't have it in for John on Saturday after the results! His outburst on ITT confirms this! As for Brendan, I agree with Kez. He seems to have matured a lot this series. I suppose after his exploits on "Love Island", things could only get better