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Search forJohn Sergeant exit debate rages on
Friday, November 21, 2008, 10:26
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said the judges should be the ones to go because they were taking the show too seriously.
The 64-year-old former BBC political correspondent dramatically quit on Wednesday saying he feared there was a real danger he might win.
John received a mauling from judges for his clumsy footwork - but viewers' love for him kept him in the popular BBC1 show despite coming bottom of the score table three weeks in a row with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff.
Mr Murphy said he was the only person who freely admitted to being a worse dancer than John, who was nicknamed the Dancing Pig.
He said: "The fact is the judges don't know what this programme is all about. I watch the programme with my family."
He added that it was "family entertainment and good fun and John is emblematic of that, rather than taking himself so seriously".
"I think we need to get rid of the judges rather than John."
The BBC's website has been flooded with complaints about John's departure and comments on its "Have your say" section had almost reached the 10,000 mark on Thursday afternoon.
John is due to board a P&O cruise to the Caribbean just days after his last dance, to entertain guests with speeches. But he insisted his decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing was not connected to his work commitments on the ship.
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