Strictly Come Dancing: more than 2,000 complain over John Sergeant exit

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The BBC has received more than 2,000 complaints from viewers upset over the withdrawal of John Sergeant from Strictly Come Dancing.

Today the corporation said that since the announcement of Sergeant's departure yesterday morning, it had received 2,094 complaints from Strictly fans unhappy he was leaving, with the figure expected to rise during the day.

This contrasts to the 377 complaints the BBC received about his continued involvement in the show before the journalist announced yesterday that he was leaving Strictly Come Dancing.

At a press conference yesterday, Sergeant said he had decided to quit the show because he might actually win – a prospect he called a "frightening thought".

"There was a real danger I could win the show. Even for me that would be a joke too far," he added.

The BBC has said Sergeant will appear one final time with his partner, Kristina Rihanoff, on Saturday's live BBC1 edition of the show, in which he will give a farewell dance.

A BBC spokesman confirmed that one celebrity would leave the show as normal at the end of Sunday's results programme, meaning the show will have one less couple in the final on December 20 – two instead of the usual three.

During yesterday's press conference, the BBC1 controller, Jay Hunt, said anyone who had previously voted for Sergeant and wanted their money back would be reimbursed.

Source:MediaGuardian