Tonight:
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People feel impotent at the moment. Anyone who has not already felt the cold hand of the recession on their shoulder is braced for it. So why is everyone talking about John Sergeant's shock resignation from Strictly Come Dancing? And why on earth were people voting in their millions to keep him in? Because conspiracy theories about Sergeant's departure aside, this show has connected with people as few other cultural phenomena have in these hard times.
Planet Strictly offers comfort in a world where everything else seems to be careering out of control. My brother-in-law runs a technology company holding interviews at the moment: everyone who turned up had been made redundant in recent weeks. A school governor just told me the same about candidates for a caretaker position. During both these awkward conversations we shrugged a lot, said how depressing it was - and then moved on to discussing the paso doble. Much better to think about dancing teddy bears and outcomes you can actually affect.
This is why people went crazy for Sergeant, a man who obviously could not dance. Personally, I didn't get it - especially as Sergeant mania almost ousted my favourites, Lisa and Brendan. But I understand the childish allure of the protest vote. Sergeant's supporters became drunk on the power of interactive entertainment. Scores of people who would never normally vote suddenly realised that by phoning repeatedly they could create merry hell. And so they did.
The more the recession bites, the more we can expect to see of this people-power bandwagon. And the more heavily people will fall for the innocence of Strictly Come Dancing. The traditional end-of-year mass opiates, The X Factor and I'm a Celebrity, are already losing their popularity in the current economic climate. Who wants to pay to vote for some spotty, emoting teenager to win a £1 million record contract during a downturn? And what sympathy can you have for celebrities eating kangaroo's testicles when you yourself are already contemplating shopping long-term at Lidl?
Recessionally correct entertainment is in its heyday and Strictly is winning because it has got the brand sewn up. The programme offers decadence but of a benign variety. There is even the requisite element of make-do-and-mend: the show's spin-off programme, It Takes Two, regularly features items on how the sequined costumes are recycled, with scraps from one dancer's skirt reappearing as a sleeve the following week. And in Bruce Forsyth as host, they have found a man who, unlike the majority of the viewing public, appears to be magically immune to redundancy.
But, despite his popularity, John Sergeant has done the right thing by stepping down: it was all turning nasty - which is very un-Strictly. Hopefully, with an end to this moment of collective madness comes a wake-up call. Reality TV phone voting is no more a sign of democracy than the existence of the Monster Raving Loony Party. And it only affects life on Planet Strictly - not Planet Earth.
Bonding with baby
Why is it anybody's business how long — or short — a time a woman takes off work after she has a baby? It's between her and her employer. Under new EU proposals, women would have to take six weeks compulsory maternity leave. Only a tiny minority of women want to go back after a few days or weeks. Now these women will be demonised even further.
It is time to stop this obsession with mother-and-baby bonding and look at the long-term problems. Employers should offer parental leave to men and women but no one should be compelled to take it. Let's concentrate on proposals for flexible or part-time work which will benefit families for the whole of a child's life and stop fixating on babyhood.
Reader views (6)
All appears to be nothing more than Lord Mandy spin to me to distract us from the incompetence of boom & bust Brown's communist influenced Labour Government. I would certainly like to see the telephone companies records to identify just how many calls came from the same number.
- Joe, London, UK, 21/11/2008 13:42
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Peter - you live in a bubble. Plenty of people had heard of the judges before and they have long established careers. And if you want to see Krsitina then watch the sunday show where the professionals dance, even the ones voted off! This show is about DANCING and its more than just the contest.
- Rita, essex, 21/11/2008 12:26
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I only saw the programme once and never voted but I can fully understand why so many people voted for John Sergeant as the judges appeared to me to be really unpleasant.
- William, London, 21/11/2008 11:34
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Re: Baby bonding. Even if we put to one side the issue of breast feeding, the act of giving birth is a pretty intense one. I was pretty fit (swimming 3-4 times a week) had a natural birth (with epidural) and a fairly short labour (12 hours), yet it took me 2 weeks before i could walk properly. It took almost 5-6 weeks to get the hang of breast feeding with several incidents of almost mastitus. Pregnancy is a pretty tough physiological process with loosening of pelvic ligaments etc, I think women should be given 6 weeks to be able to recover physically and adjust mentally and emotionally.
In Norway, it is mandatory to start maternity leave at 37 weeks. This has led to a decrease in infant mortality. Maternity leave can be shared between both parents but the first 6 weeks post birth belongs exclusively to the new mum (dad gets 2 weeks 'papa leave' at birth.
I don't understand why there is a fuss made when social rules are put in place that strengthen the 'civilised' nature of society. Maternity benefits in Scandinavia are the envy of the world yet you argue to erode such benefits for your own citizens - why?
- H Jansen, Oslo, Norway, 21/11/2008 09:54
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Please tell the BBC Controller I am so angry John Sergeant has felt he had to pull out of this programme.
What is the BBC doing? It's entertainment, based on the contestants personality as much as their dancing ability.
It's an entertainment programme, and as viewers we should be able to vote in whomever we wish. We also pay good money to do this, in accordance with the BBC rules.
The judges were vindictive and seem to have lost the point of the programme - it's entertainment, not a formal dance competition, and they are not the stars, the dancers are.
- Carol, London, 20/11/2008 22:16
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the judges on strictly need to realise that no-one had heard of them before the program and to get off their self erected pedistle(spelling),they forget that its a light entertainment show and not a real competition as such ,im devastated that Kristina Rihanoff wont be on my TV anymore,i will just have to seek sanctuary in your thumb-nail picture Viv 
- Peter Ex Londoner, Hartlepool, 20/11/2008 13:57
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