Since John Sergeant announced his decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing, one internet analyst believes that predicting who will win the dance competition could be that little bit easier.

The former political journalist quit the show fearing that the public would eventually crown him champion.

The show's four judges constantly berated his performances, yet the public took to the rotund dancer and voted for him every week.

Following his decision to hang up his dancing shoes, a public outcry ensued with politicians and the public calling for Sergeant to return and the judges to go. Sergeant will perform his last dance this Saturday.

Robin Goad from monitoring firm Hitwise said that Sergeant's exit does make predicting a winner, based on internet searches, "a little easier".

"I must admit that we've been struggling a bit with the data this week, as it doesn't point towards a clear front-runner," Goad said.

Searches for competitors Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon were leading the way, while searches for Jodie Kidd have decreased.

The two remaining male contestants were bottom of the pile. However, Goad said neither Austin Healey or Tom Chambers can be ruled out as they both have "Granny appeal", which is very important, given the show's demographics.

Also for the first time this week Strictly's homepage overtook X-Factor, its ITV rival, for the first time since September.

www.hitwise.com
www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing
www.xfactor.itv.com

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