'Strictly' viewers "identify" with Garraway

Kate Garraway's husband has claimed that Strictly Come Dancing viewers can identify with his wife.

The popularity of the GMTV host has baffled the show's judges and some critics, who claim that she can't dance. However, Garraway has escaped elimination from the competition after being saved by the public's votes throughout the show's run.

Derek Draper, who has been married to Garraway for two years, has now speculated that viewers who vote for Kate are "really voting for themselves".

"Obviously Kate isn't the best dancer in the competition, but people want to tell her that they support her," Derek told the Daily Mail. "I wonder if it's because they identify with her, in a way they can't with the likes of Kelly Brook and Alesha Dixon.

"Those girls are simply fantastic. They look great. Kelly is a model and Alesha - well, let's face it, she could be. And they are utterly brilliant dancers, too.

"But you can imagine women at home watching them and thinking: 'I could never be like that.' But with Kate, they see someone who is more like them, and they think: 'If I had the chance, maybe that could be me.' Quite simply, they see a little bit of themselves in her. Maybe when they vote for Kate, they are really voting for themselves. Is that the answer?"