Clary fans urged to ditch the dancer

Julian Clary will ask fans to stop voting for him on Strictly Come Dancing amid fears that the show will lose its credibility if the disgraceful dance

10:48 09 December 2004

Julian Clary will ask fans to stop voting for him on Strictly Come Dancing amid fears that the show will lose its credibility if the disgraceful dancer wins this Saturday's final.

The show that sees celebrities take on the professionals to see who's a top trotter and who's a dancefloor dud has been a major hit - but TV bosses fear it could be threatened if the camp comic wins.

Clary admits he has two left feet but while the judges voted unanimously to chuck him out last week, fans overruled them to give the 45-year-old a chance in this weekend's dance-off.

BBC execs have revealed that some diehard supporters hit their re-dial buttons as many as 100 times to keep Clary in the show - but they are now urging the voters to play by the rules.

"It's time Julian asked his fans publicly to play the game and cast one vote per person," a senior BBC source told the Daily Star last night.

"He knows full well he is only in the final because of the so-called 'public' vote.

"A Julian Clary win could mean the end of a hit series because it would no longer be credible. Any TV viewer with eyes can see Julian's a terrible dancer.

"It's murder on the dance floor every time the man is on."

Jill Halfpenny is still the bookies' favourite in the stand-off against Clary and rival Denise Lewis.

But if Julian gets the biggest public vote then he could still come in second even if judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel-Horwood, Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli place him last.