Minister: 'Get rid of judges, not John'

A cabinet minister has reportedly said that the judges should have walked out of Strictly Come Dancing rather than John Sergeant.

Scottish secretary John Murphy was reacting to the political journalist's dramatic exit from the BBC show on Wednesday.

Sergeant said that he left because his popularity had soared to such an extent that he feared he may win, branding such an outcome "a joke too far".

However, Murphy told the BBC's Question Time: "The fact is the judges don't know what this programme is all about. I watch the programme with my family."

He said Sergeant was emblematic of good family fun "rather than taking himself so seriously", adding: "I think we need to get rid of the judges rather than John."