My View: It's not strictly serious, so what's wrong with Ann putting her foot in it?

As The X- Factor and Strictly Come Dancing hurtle towards their Christmas climaxes, the programme makers are starting to get jittery as the long shots start to look increasingly like finalists. Two years ago, when flat-footed John Sergeant pulled out of Strictly saying enough was enough as he seriously felt he could end up winning, the sigh of relief from BBC bosses was almost audible.

This year it is former politician Ann Widdecombe's turn to be slated by the judges and adored by the public. But unlike John Sergeant, Ms Widdecombe isn't going anywhere.

And why should she? I have to admit watching her being flung around the floor like a bright yellow over-fed canary last weekend wasn't a particularly pleasant sight, but clearly thousands of people are enjoying her performance or, more likely, the reaction of the judges to it.

For me, Ann Widdecombe is really the essence of what Strictly was originally meant to be. A programme which saw celebrities thrown in at the deep end with dance professionals to see if they would sink or swim. Who would have thought that it would have been such a ratings success on both sides of the Pond? They then realised they had a winning formula on their hands and the celebrities, and pretty much everyone concerned, actually started to take it seriously. May be Ann Widdecome is what Strictly needs to inject a bit more fun back into the programme.

The same cannot be said for ITV's X Factor where an organised campaign to keep talentless Brazilian Wagner in the competition appears to be succeeding. As last year's anti- Simon Cowell campaign succeeded in keeping X Factor winner Jo McElderry from the coverted Christmas Number One slot, a similar campaign looks to be catapulting Wagner to the final.

Those orchestrating the Facebook campaign say it is in opposition to the Simon Cowell machine which is dominating the music industry and popular TV. But who is actually having the last laugh? As they spend their hard-earned cash bombarding the show with calls, Simon Cowell feigns annoyance and the ratings and media coverage continue to grow.

The only losers in this situation are the rest of the wannabes for whom this could be their one shot at fame. There will always be the argument that they have bypassed the normal grind of making it to the top, but like it or not, star-making shows like X Factor and Britain's Got Talent are here to stay. All that will happen is that the quirkier acts will never see the light of day in case they end up winning. At the end of the day, if people don't like what Simon Cowell has done for the music industry then don't buy his records or watch his programmes. You have a choice.