Ann Widdecombe twirled onto the dancefloor on Saturday night in her debut performance on Strictly Come Dancing.

The former Maidstone and Weald MP obviously enjoyed her waltz with professional dancer Anton du Beke, even though her moves were compared to a voyage on a Navy ship.

Judge Bruno Tonioli said the 62-year-old's moves were "like watching the Ark Royal taking on the stormiest of seas."

He said: "The ride was bumpy but you made it out of port."

Miss Widdecombe, who dressed in pink, braced herself for the comments from judge Craig Revel-Horwood.

Before the notoriously harsh judge commented, she said: "The submarine, here he comes."

Revel-Horwood said: "I was extremely concerned for Anton's health and safety when you started getting those kicks out."

In a quick response, Miss Widdecombe added: "If you think that's bad you should see the salsa."

The former Tory MP's waltz may have received mixed reviews from the judges but her appearance on the BBC show proved popular with viewers.

According to reports, about 10.1 million people tuned in on Saturday to watch Miss Widdecombe, beating the 9.3 million who watched the show the previous night.