Danny John-Jules has urged the public to judge his Strictly Come Dancing stint on his performances and not “gossip”.
The Red Dwarf actor was eliminated from last year’s edition of the BBC One show after ending up in the bottom two, a week after reports of a row with his professional dance partner Amy Dowden emerged.
The pair reportedly had a disagreement in the dance studio, with 27-year-old Dowden walking out of a session before they resolved the row.
The 58-year-old said he “went in to dance” and viewers should instead look back at the six numbers he performed alongside Dowden.
He told PA: “For me, I never went into anything looking at it as if it was a tabloid or this show or that show.
“For me, I just went in to dance. And if anybody wants to see what my time was like on that show then they just need to look at my numbers.
“That’s exactly what I went in for and that’s exactly what I executed to the highest ability that I had.
“That’s basically what I went in for and I’ll be judged by those dances. Everything else is just gossip. I’m an entertainer.”
He added: “I didn’t go through anything that no other person who has been in that show has been through. So for me, that is just that.
“I’m talking about what I actually do, which is entertainment. And that is what I did on those six numbers.
“It’s there for the world to see. They can judge me on their performance. The rest of it, anyone who goes in, you are told beforehand that’s what it is going to be.
“That’s what it is, that’s what it was. I stuck to the performance and that’s what I did.”
Alongside his Red Dwarf co-stars Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Robert Llewellyn, John-Jules appears in an advertisement for AA.
Lister, Cat, Rimmer and Kryten reunite for an adventure with the car recovery service.
Titled Stellar Rescue, the episode sees Lister use the AA app to report a breakdown from space.