Strictly Come Dancing underdog John Sergeant has turned the show into a ’soap opera’, the latest victim of his popularity said today.

A day after judge Arlene Phillips accused the ‘dancing pig’ of undermining the programme, actress Cherie Lunghi joined the controversy.

She claimed the journalist, 64, was being helped by the popularity of his dancing partner Kristina Rihanoff.
Lunghi, who was voted off on Sunday, told the BBC Breakfast news programme today: ‘Christina is a wonderful dancer and makes him look wonderful. I don’t know whether it’s a Marilyn Monroe kind of fantasy or whatever, but it’s a show and it is entertainment.

‘It is almost like there are two shows going on. John is dancing and competing, but there is this whole soap thing and there is sympathy for the character.’

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