Sergeant hits back at dance judges

John Sergeant, the former political journalist turned Strictly Come Dancing contestant, has criticised the judges of the BBC 1 programme for claiming that he only remains on the show because of the sympathy vote and not because of his performances.

"I'm a bit startled by all this because we are trying to do our best and if the audience like us [Sergeant and his dance partner Kristina Rihanoff, pictured], that can't be wrong under the rules of the show," he told the Daily Mail. "The point here is whether the judges can keep to the spirit as well as the letter of the rules. It is funny how judges both in real life and on Strictly Come Dancing lose touch with the views of ordinary people."

One of the judges, Len Goodman, said at the weekend that Sergeant's dancing made "a nonsense of the show". Another, Arlene Phillips, said that he was "outstanding at dancing really badly". They have a point.

Last weekend, singer Heather Small was dismissed finding herself in the bottom two with former S-Club 7 star Rachel Stevens - but both women received far higher scores than Sergeant from the judges.Craig Revel Horwood, who is also on the judging panel, is clearly unamused: "I think John should go. I still maintain that this is a dance competition. You need people that can dance."