Wolverhampton drum 'n' bass artist Goldie became the first celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing after viewers’ votes saved Ann Widdecombe to dance another week.

The former MP for Maidstone and the Weald treated millions of viewers to a unique version of the salsa but her lack of passion or technique left her bottom of the judges’ scoreboard.

The show’s fans were entertained, however, and voted to save Widdecombe and her partner Anton Du Beke.

DJ and producer Goldie, along with his partner Kristina Rihanoff, had been praised by the judges but were left in last place when the panel’s scores were combined with viewers’ votes.

The couple with the lowest score are automatically eliminated this year after the scrapping of the dance off, which gave judges the chance to save the better performers of the two lowest scoring pairs.

Goldie took the bad news on the chin, saying: “It’s all right. I’ve had a great time and been superfit, so I’ll keep that.

“Kristina is fantastic. It’s been a good experience for me - onwards and upwards.”

The scrapping of the dance off gives more power to the public, a spokesman for the show said.

In the event of a draw when scores are combined, the couple with the lowest number of viewers’ votes will automatically get the boot.

Fans have often favoured the less gifted dancers and Widdecombe’s survival suggests she could become as popular with viewers as John Sergeant did in 2008.

The former political journalist often came bottom of the judges’ scoreboard but was kept out of the dance off by viewers who loved watching his hilarious performances and voted for him to stay week after week.

He eventually quit the show, saying: “The trouble is that there is now a real danger that I might win the competition. Even for me that would be a joke too far.”

The remaining couples in this year’s competition will dance either a rumba or a quickstep next week.