beyondBeijing2008.com

LONDON – Amid the economic gloom and coming pall of winter, it is perhaps unsurprising that we British are looking for a glimmer of light to brighten our damp and dreary evenings.

Quickstep forward our very own ray of sunshine – in the unlikely shape of John Sergeant, a roly-poly former political reporter for the BBC.

Sergeant, 64, made his name in the hallowed corridors of Westminster, interviewing such political heavyweights as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

It is only fair to point out that, in the intervening years, Sergeant has become something of a heavyweight himself. 

He was also born with two left feet.

All of which makes it somewhat unlikely that he would become a national pin-up. 

But for six weeks now, thousands of TV viewers have defied common sense to keep Sergeant on “Strictly Come Dancing,” the British equivalent of “Dancing with the Stars,” booting off more accomplished contestants.

Some two dozen Facebook sites now are devoted to keeping him there.

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