John Sergeant, arguably the least talented person ever to feature in a talent contest, moved closer to the Strictly Come Dancing final last night on a wave of public support.

The 64-year-old political journalist, whose hapless dancefloor antics have seen housewives take him to their hearts, again finished bottom of the judges’ rankings but was propelled into the next round by a public vote that saw the actress Cherie Lunghi dumped out of the BBC competition.

Sergeant may be vastly popular with the public, but his continued presence, at the expense of Lunghi, 56, who had been a favourite to win the contest, has won him few friends among Strictly’s celebrity contenders and their professional dance partners.

The cast usually stick up for each other in public, but James Jordan, Lunghi’s dance partner, broke ranks yesterday to beg viewers to end Sergeant’s run in the competition. Visibly annoyed after being told that he and Lunghi were out of the show, Jordan said: “I think Cherie had a lot more to show. This is supposed to be a dance contest. Please, please, people at home, vote for the dancing.”

The frustration directed at the former political correspondent was all too evident at the end of the show. Unseen by those watching at home but witnessed by the studio audience, none of the performers milling on the dance floor to commiserate with and embrace Lunghi would make eye-contact with Sergeant, who wandered aimlessly among them.

The competition has now reached a stage where, bar Sergeant, all those remaining are accomplished dancers with a shot at taking home the trophy.

One senior show insider said that he thought the public would now put an end to the joke. “This might be the tipping point,” the source said. “People at home will see that the competition has got to the stage that those getting kicked out at the expense of John had a real chance of winning.”

Sergeant finished bottom in the judges’ vote for the third week running after dancing the American Smooth with his Russian partner, Kristina Rihanoff. In previous weeks the four judges have fulminated at his performance, with Craig Revel Horwood telling The Times on Saturday: “This is a dance competition. It’s not Strictly Come John Sergeant.”

However, after seeing such harsh words provoke even more support for Sergeant, they chose to love-bomb him. “Surprisingly appealing,” Bruno Tonioli, the Italian judge, purred. “Some slightly small ‘wow’ factor,” Revel Horwood added, as the four awarded Sergeant his highest marks so far. Alas, it was no use. The public spoke and Sergeant prevailed.

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