Something's gotta give ...

... and something has.

I'm not going to comment on John Sargeant after this post anymore. There's got to be a line drawn at some point, and I think tonight is the point. But I can't let him go without saying something about the way he's left.

It's all over the news, all over the blogs; John Sargeant has quit Stirctly.

I have to say that I am quite shocked, and I've just watched the hour long It Takes Two special and should imagine that the entire viewing public has spontaneously combusted, either at James' comments, or Johns'!

These are my thoughts:
- John wasn't a particularly good dancer. I wished during the early weeks he'd stop smirking like the cat who had got the cream.
- John seems to be a bit arrogant, and many of his answers tonight were trite and glib.
- James' statement that John's decision was the worst thing that could have happened was overstated, but I agree with him. Actually Kate Garraway managed to say exactly what James had said, only much more eloquently.
- My own, honest, opinion on John's departure is that it was the easy way out. He's been talking all along about the rules of the game and how the judges don't seem to know them, but if he was abiding by the rules, he would have stayed until he was voted out. And if that meant he won the entire competition, then so be it. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have dealt with it.

I really hope Kristina is invited back for another series. She's a fantastic dancer, and makes a valuable contribution to the show. I also think John's behaviour towards her on I.T.T. when she was visibly upset was a bit off - he didn't seem to mind that much (in public at least) that his partner was in tears beside him. Having said that, however, he does remind me of my father in that respect!

I've also been really shocked by the comments on the BBC forum. Claudia's been getting a lot of stick, and there are a lot of people demanding the money back that they spent on voting for him. That's just silly - would they have asked for the money back if John had been voted out properly?

Anyway, enough is enough. No more talking about John any more. There are six fantastic dancers all competing for the final now, and there's barely anything to choose between them. Time to focus on those that are still in.