Sergeant blamed for 'Strictly' vote row

John Sergeant has faced a new backlash after being blamed for the voting row which hit Strictly Come Dancing last weekend, according to a report.

The show's semi-final was thrown into chaos earlier this month as a tie at the top of the judges' leaderboard made it impossible for Tom Chambers to avoid the dance-off. Producers eventually decided to resolve the situation by putting all three remaining contestants through to last night's final.

Sergeant competed in the BBC One ballroom show for nine weeks before pulling out after his popularity with the public led to criticism from the judges and some of the show's professional dancers.

An insider told The People: "Most of the contestants and a lot of people working on the show are blaming John for what happened last weekend.

"They believe that if he hadn't walked out on November 21 there would have been four couples in last week's semi-final, not three. The issue of the public vote not being fair would not have happened because there would have been an even number of couples. They believe the decision to scrap the public votes only arose because of John's decision to quit."

Chambers and his dance partner Camilla Dallerup were voted as the winners in the live final last night.