BBC bosses have rubbished claims by the Daily Mail that they are planning to sack two Strictly Come Dancing judges after the departure of John Sergeant.

“The BBC’s head honchos were furious that John Sergeant fell on his sword. He was the most enormous ratings winner and executives think the judges overstepped the mark,” a corporation source was quoted as telling the newspaper.

“Arlene and Craig have the axe hanging over them depending on how ratings do in the rest of the show over the next month.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “The story about the Strictly Come Dancing judges in today’s Daily Mail is a load of rubbish. The judges’ role in the show is to critique the contestants’ dancing and that is exactly what they have done in this series and every series before it.”