John Sergeant does the seaside shuffle as he prepares for Strictly Come Dancing

The wind was howling, there were puddles underfoot and he was in plain sight.
None of this distracted John Sergeant from the task at hand.

With a look of furious concentration, the news veteran practised his one-two-three one-two-three in a seaside car park on Saturday.

He seemed oblivious to the audience of amused locals watching him dip and sway. Mr Sergeant, 64, is obviously not letting a moment go to waste while preparing for his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing.

Double act: John Sergeant and Kristina Rihanoff waltz in the seaside car park

He was in Lyme Regis, Dorset, for another reason entirely - to perform a one-man show based on his 40-year career as a political reporter.

But he brought dance partner Kristina Rihanoff along to squeeze in some extra training.

Unfortunately, they were locked out of the theatre during the day and had to make do with the car park.

Sergeant will compete against 15 other contestants in the hit TV show

One local said: 'It was hilarious. They just started dancing on the sea front without a care in the world. They were oblivious to everyone else and wrapped up in concentration about their dancing.'

Mr Sergeant even included Miss Rihanoff in his show that night, to demonstrate a few moves.

The sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing begins on the BBC on Saturday.

Mr Sergeant competes against 15 other contestants including Olympic swimmer Mark Foster, singer Rachel Stevens, rugby player Austin Healey and Gary Rhodes, the celebrity chef. Ladbrokes has named him 80/1 outsider to win - but Mr Sergeant is determined to stay the course.

Theatre manager Nigel Day said: 'He asked the audience if they wanted to be part of a block vote from Lyme Regis and told them to at least get him though to the second week so he could tango. He's afraid he'll be voted off first and he loves to tango.'