Tangle-footed correspondent quits BBC dance contest

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A former BBC political correspondent whose plucky performance on a televised dance contest won him wild popularity with British viewers said on Wednesday he was quitting the show.

John Sergeant's occasionally inelegant dance steps earned him the ridicule of the four judges on the BBC's hugely popular "Strictly Come Dancing" show but won him an army of fans among television viewers for his sense of fun.

The public constantly voted to keep him on the reality show despite the 64-year-old regularly finishing bottom of the judges' scoreboard.

However, after mounting criticism from some of the ousted contestants and their professional dance partners, Sergeant said he had decided to quit.

"I am sorry to say I have decided to leave Strictly Come Dancing. It was always my intention to have fun on the show and I was hoping to stay in as long as possible," he said in a statement.

"The trouble is that there is now a real danger that I might win the competition. Even for me that would be a joke too far."

Matters came to a head after actress Cherie Lunghi, who was tipped as a possible winner, was voted off last week's programme.

Afterwards, she said the show was becoming a "soap opera" with some people working hard to compete while Sergeant won viewers' support thanks to his character and cheerful relationship with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff.

"He has been an entertaining contestant and is hugely popular with the viewers," said Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One.

"We would have liked him to stay but we respect his decision to leave."

Arlene Phillips, who two weeks ago told the former journalist he was "outstanding at dancing really badly", said she and the other judges had not been unfair on Sergeant.

She said there had been other celebrities whose public popularity far outweighed their dance skills.

"We've actually been quite nice on this programme," she added.

Viewers will have one last chance to see Sergeant strut his stuff before he waltzes off the show when he gives a farewell performance on this Saturday's programme.