Fury at Sergeant’s decision to quit

John Sergeant's decision to withdraw from the BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing has been greeted with howls of protests from his fans and supporters, among them business minister Lord (Peter) Mandelson, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman and the Tory leader David Cameron.

The former political correspondent (pictured with his dance partner Kristina Rihanoff), who despite being regularly berated by the judges for his inept performance has proved a massive hit with the public, pulled out yesterday because it looked like he had a real chance of triumphing in the show.

Explaining his decision, Sergeant, who had been dubbed a "dancing pig in Cuban heels", said: "It ends up with me firing imaginary bullets at the judges, which certainly would have amused me and lots of people in the audience. The idea that we would then go on doing this week after week, irritating and annoying people and causing controversy, that is not what I'm about and that is not why I wanted to join the show, which was to entertain and give people good reason to stay in on a Saturday night."

Jeremy Paxman, who attended the press conference at which Sergeant, 64, made his announcement to leave, said it was "an absolute scandal", adding: "I think [the public support] was a very good example of that wonderful British taste for sticking two fingers up to authority."

While Lord Mandelson, who as reported here has expressed interest in being a contestant on the show, appears to see his leaving as a personal betrayal. "John Sergeant should not bow out," he said. "He has become the people's John Travolta and he should be a fighter, not a quitter."