When John Sergeant thrust his microphone in front of wary politicians his catchphrase was “give me ten seconds”. But Britain’s favourite “dancing pig” can expect considerably longer in the spotlight when he finally waltzes off screen tonight.

Despite outrage from ministers and online petitions calling for the reinstatement of the former political reporter, the BBC expects a bumper audience of 12 million viewers for the former ITN political editor’s Strictly Come Dancing farewell waltz with his long-suffering professional dance partner, the Russian Kristina Rihanoff.

The show, it seems, will go on and for the surviving contestants, such as Rachel Stevens and Jodie Kidd, it is a chance to take the centre stage, so unexpectedly hijacked by the flat-footed 64-year-old.

The BBC said that it was “very sad to see John go”.

But more malleable contestants are preferable to the Strictly producers, who will, in future, be wary of selecting a wily old showman such as Mr Sergeant, who began his career alongside Alan Bennett on the Fringe.

With an estimated 3.5 million votes collected over his two-month run, Mr Sergeant said that he was leaving to avoid a “bloody battle” – perhaps with his wife, Mary, who is said to have found the media attention generated by her husband’s performances less welcome.

Mr Sergeant has just enough time to ponder his increased value on the corporate events and television panel show circuit before heading off to Barbados for a pre-booked, all-expenses-paid £10,000 luxury cruise on Friday.

Passengers will be treated to after-dinner speeches and a demonstration of Mr Sergeant’s dancing skills during their nine-country voyage to Acapulco.

Already on the books of six agencies, Mr Sergeant will be able to triple his fee to £15,000 for an after-dinner speech or public appearance.

There will be a whole host of new anecdotes to add to his famous door-stepping of Margaret Thatcher outside the British Embassy in Paris.

His publishers no doubt hope that he will be saving the best insights for a new edition of his 2002 autobiography, with lucrative serialisation rights to follow.

Before his sudden exposure, Mr Sergeant was the host of a comedy panel show, Argumental, on the satellite channel Dave, watched by a few hundred thousand viewers.

Now a return to hosting Have I Got News for You on BBC One is expected, with talk of a possible chat show on another leading channel.

Rather than rejoin the judging panel and his fellow contestants on the official Strictly Come Dancing live arena tour next year, Mr Sergeant will present his own one-man show in provincial theatres, beginning in Winchester in January.

Clive Conway, promoter of An Audience with John Sergeant, said: “We booked nine shows before the series began but now we are looking to do more in bigger venues.

“The great thing about John is that he puts on a real show because of his theatrical background. He answers the audience’s questions with real skill but now people will want to see him dance too.”

Mr Conway added: “He gets a share of the box office but there isn’t a lot of money in regional theatre. You need an audience of 500-plus to make a decent sum.

“The real money is in after-dinner events. His rates will shoot up and he is certain to be in demand for more television shows.”

The challenge for Mr Sergeant – who shares an agent, Anita Land, with Jeremy Paxman and Mark Austin, will be what to turn down. “For the first six months you get offered every advertising voiceover and super-market opening in town,” said a show-business power-broker who declined to be named.

“Then people move on to the next big reality TV sensation. John won’t want to become the new Eddie the Eagle, just famed for being bad at something, because he is a serious broadcaster.”

Back on the dancefloor, the bookies now favour Austin Healey, the former England rugby star, to emerge victorious from the remaining six amateur hoofers.

But the shadow of Sergeant still hangs heavy. The www.bringbackjohn.co.uk website claims to have nearly 50,000 signatures for its petition, which it plans to present to Mark Thompson, the BBC Director-General.

The show’s official website message board was closed because of the volume of complaints.

A survey by onepoll.com, found that more than half of the programme’s fans said they would not tune in once Mr Sergeant goes.

There are rumours that the Strictly Come Dancing voting system will be changed next year to give the judges a greater say in which stars stay and which ones go, so that the public can no longer “undermine the integrity” of Strictly, by supporting clodhopping entertainers against the advice of the experts.

So while Mr Sergeant has won journalism awards and covered trouble spots from Northern Ireland to Vietnam, his lasting legacy could be on the bloody battlefield of celebrity ballroom dancing.

Talking big money

£200,000
Tony Blair

£100,000
Bill Clinton

£40.000
Lord Patten of Barnes, last Governor of Hong Kong

£30,000
Neil Armstrong, first man on Moon

£15,000
Chris Hoy, triple Olympic gold medallist

£4,000-7,000
John Bird, Big Issue founder

Sources: City Speakers International, Times Archive

The tour

An Audience with John Sergeant

Winchester Theatre Royal January 28, 2009
Watford Palace Theatre January 30
Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford February 5
Torch Theatre, Milford Haven February 9
Little Theatre, Leicester February 13
Lichfield Garrick Theatre February 28
Thornbury Festival April 17
Fisher Theatre, Bungay, Suffolk April 29
New Theatre, Cardiff June 4

— Watch his final Strictly Come Dancing performance on BBC One tonight at 6.20pm

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