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175,000 message the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing website to voice their anger at John Sergeant's departure
Last updated at 12:42pm on 21.11.08A BBC online messageboard for Strictly Come Dancing viewers has received a record number of hits — more than 175,000 — as the row over John Sergeant's departure intensifies.
Support: viewers unhappy that John Sergeant has gone have swamped a BBC forum
There were 175,634 posts today with titles including “Please complain to the BBC about the disgusting bullying” and “Boycott the show on Saturday”.
One member, “nursej”, wrote: “How disgusting that John was forced out of the show, this show is not a professional dancing competition, it is an entertainment show, but the judges and remaining contestants seem to have lost sight of this.”
Former political reporter Sergeant quit on Wednesday following criticism of his dancing from the judges on the show.
The messageboard anger came as BBC bosses gagged Strictly Come Dancing contestants from talking about Sergeant. Holby City star Tom Chambers, down to the final six on the hit show, said: “There's a lot of different views with the people in Strictly... I would love to say what we're all thinking, but we've been told by the BBC that we're not allowed to say anything.”
But that hasn't stopped almost everybody else wading into the row.
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy is the latest to comment, calling for the show's judges to be sacked for taking Sergeant's dancing too seriously, which he called “good fun”.
Mr Murphy told the BBC's Question Time: “I think we need to get rid of the judges.”
After a goodbye performance on Saturday's show, 64-year-old Sergeant will leave to entertain guests on a P&O cruise ship.
* Viewing figures for The X Factor could rocket if John Sergeant's fans desert BBC1 for ITV.
Last week, 10.58m people tuned in to see pool cleaner Daniel Evans getting booted off The
X Factor, compared with 9.69m watching Strictly Come Dancing.
If angry Strictly fans are true to their word about boycotting the show, Simon Cowell's X Factor could surge ahead in the ratings battle when viewers switch over in protest.
But public interest in the Sergeant crisis should ensure bumper BBC ratings as he performs his final dance, a last waltz, on Saturday. The BBC has also pledged to refund the money of viewers who voted for Sergeant.
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