The John 'Situation'

I had decided not to talk explicitly about the John 'situation’, but I feel that I now need to comment.

How the world has changed.

Spring 2004 - Series 1. A plucky young lad by the name of Christopher Parker was the resident ‘entertainer’ on Strictly Come Dancing. Good dancers were knocked out of the competition – Claire & Paul, Erin & Martin, Lesley & Anton. The entertainer was left standing until the final. Week after week the viewers noticed, sighed, rolled their eyes at the person sitting next to them on the sofa and went on with their lives.

Fast forward to Autumn 2008. It’s Series 6. There are discussion forums with hundreds of users, dozens of online blogs, Facebook, MySpace. The papers are aware of the millions of viewers, thousands of online users, and regurgitate every judge’s comments. Jeremy Vine has a debate about it on Radio 2 in between discussions about the credit crunch and the Euro. And in the middle of the storm is John Sergeant, plodding along, entertaining the nation just as Christopher had done five years earlier.

The debate about John has only happened because the growth of the show and the communication outlets around it. Aside from Natasha & Brendan, barely a word was written about Strictly Come Dancing during Series 1. Now, it’s out there 24-7 and the papers are all trying to get Strictly exclusives and sell a few more copies.

John and Christopher are not that different. Both were loved by a public who valued entertainment over skill. Both worked hard on their dancing, and had great respect for their professional partners. The only difference is the change in the voting mechanic, with the addition of the dance-off.

Of course, this is a blog, which gives me a platform to give my opinion.

I like John. Cha cha aside, John dances the choreography he is given well and makes few mistakes. His technique is not the best and the routines are simple, but he learns each dance and performs it with enjoyment.

The public are entitled to vote for whomever they choose. That is the beauty of Strictly.

Yes, it’s a shame - neigh a travesty - that better dancers have to be thrown out to make way for him. But those are the rules and I respect that.

I certainly don’t think John should step down. And I hope that, whatever their opinions, the public will continue to treat John with respect.

I respect what John has done. It takes great courage to put yourself in front of the public every week in a field that you are unfamiliar with, only to have everyone give you grief instead of credit.

I thought that it was disgraceful that Christopher & Hanna stopped Lesley & Anton getting to the final of Series 1. And I can see John & Kristina doing the same this time around.

I would be happy to see John voted off Strictly Come Dancing. But I have now made peace with the fact that he might still be standing come 20th December.

My overwhelming memory of Series 1 was how boring the final was. Admittedly, it was only a 2-handed final. But there was no way Christopher would have beaten Natasha. I don’t think Lesley would have done either, but perhaps the final might have felt more exciting. As it was, it was dull.

A final with any combination of Austin, Tom, Rachel, Lisa and even Jodie would be the most exciting since Zoe, Colin and Darren (I love Christine, but I don’t see her as a contender). Add John to the mix, and it starts to look a bit boring.

So, for the sake of an exciting final, I would like to see John pack up his Freeds and head for the door.