Politician Balls wins hearts of viewers in UK TV dance show

LONDON: Britain’s tabloids mourned on Monday after former politician Ed Balls was booted out of a television dance contest, having won hearts with his try-hard attempts to improve his clunky “dad dancing”.

Balls fi nally got the chop on the BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing”, one of Britain’s most popular TV shows, after 10 weeks of pouting, hip-thrusts and comically clodhopping efforts.

The tubby 49-year- old novice, a former education minister but never the most popular of politicians, had been the surprise star of the show, despite his dodgy dancing.

“I so enjoyed myself and got so much further than I ever thought I could and I am going out on a high,” said Balls, also a former Labour Party fi nance spokesman who lost his seat in last year’s general election.

He even won the plaudits of his political foes, with Conservative former prime minister David Cameron and fi nance minister George Osborne rallying to the cause.

Newspapers lamented Balls’ last tango.

“We’ve enjoyed watching the transformation of a politician we loved to hate into a dancer – to use the word in its loosest sense – we just love to love,” The Sun said in its editorial.

The Daily Mirror’s TV editor Nicola Methven said: “The public took him to their hearts, because us Brits can’t help loving a trier.”

Balls came 6th out of 15 celebrity contestants, outlasting singers Anastacia and Will Young and 2012 Olympic champion long jumper Greg Rutherford. — AFP