People power thwarts the Strictly Come Dancing judges

SO farewell then, Cherie Lunghi, you have performed your last waltz. For like those who have gone before you on Strictly Come Dancing, you have fallen victim to People Power, voted off the BBC1 programme last night despite not being the worst dancer on the series.

That accolade, of course, goes to the excruciatingly awful John Sergeant, the 64-year-old former journalist, who is so bad the nation has grown to adore him.

Ugly, fat, balding and a terrible dancer he may be, but Sergeant has made us all smile and laugh each week. And that is a precious commodity in these credit crunch-hit times.

So while the judges continue to give him - and by some distance, bottom marks - we the licence-fee payers have exercised our right to vote to keep Sergeant and his voluptuous dance partner Kristina Rihanoff in the competition.

Strictly's electoral system - and who better to understand it than a former political reporter - is designed to reflect both the tastes of the panel of judges and the viewers at home in equal measure. Each contestant receives half their total votes from the judges and the other half from the public.

Now, normally in Strictly we are guided by the collective expert eyes of the Gang of Four judges (Craig, Arlene, Len and Bruno, since you ask). Not this series, however. I suspect I'm not alone when I admit I can't tell a foxtrot from a quickstep. But when Sergeant dances, I know he's dreadful. It's just that he is too lovable and too entertaining to vote off.

As the series has progressed, the judges have grown ever angrier at their inability to get him removed from the competition. And as they get angrier, we, the public, are ever more determined to vote to protect him from their wrath.

The judges have tried everything. Two weeks ago, they were downright horrid. Craig gave him one point and stated afterwards he would have given zero if he had had the number on his score card. The public reacted in the way they know best - by voting for Sergeant in their droves.

Then this weekend, the judges tried a softly, softly approach, declaring the American Smooth his best dance but still ranked Sergeant bottom. That didn't work either.

Instead, he will dance again. How long he can keep his fabulous run going has become a matter for urgent debate. In the Mendick household, my wife is convinced he will be voted out once we get to the last few remaining talented contestants. I am not so sure. Like in politics, elections are all about momentum and Sergeant, who knows about such things only too well, is being swept along on a popular tide of goodwill.

So far, thanks to us, Sergeant has avoided the dance-off that would surely seal his fate. Instead, it is Miss Lunghi, at 56 the possessor of still-extraordinary legs, who has gone home. Light on her feet, elegant and expressive, she was pretty decent at ballroom. But she couldn't make a nation smile. And for that she had to go.