Act leader David Seymour: Don't blame me for Suzy Cato's Dancing with the Stars exit

Act leader David Seymour copped some flak on social media after Suzy Cato's elimination from Dancing with the Stars on Monday night but is unrepentant about his survival and has no plans to withdraw.

Despite repeatedly getting much lower scores from the judges than other dancers Seymour has steered clear of the bottom two courtesy of a higher public vote.

Asked if he felt bad about Cato's demise, Seymour said that was not up to him.

"I got into the show because people voted for me. All the people who are sad that Suzy went should have voted for her."

In 2008, former ITV political editor John Sergeant withdrew from Strictly Come Dancing in the UK after being repeatedly voted in despite putting little effort into it.

At the time he said the trouble was that there was a real danger he might win the competition. "Even for me that would be a joke too far."

Seymour said he was not considering any such move.

"This is a show about raising money and giving it your best and I know it irritates some people that that's a popular concept but as long as people keep voting for me I'm going to keep dancing."

He said it was possible that more people had voted for him on the show than in the 2017 election. The money from his votes is going to Kidsline.

On Sunday night while Seymour was attempting to twerk on national television dressed in fluoresent Richard Simmonsesque exercise gear, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was arriving in Singapore.

Asked what was going through his head at that moment, Seymour said he was counting.

"It's very important to count when you dance so while I was twerking what was going through my head was 'one, two, three, four, five, six' and, for the audience after that comes seven and eight."

Seymour has had to defend the time he has spent rehearsing rather than working as an MP, saying he was at Parliament no less than other party leaders.

The Epsom MP said he had been holding public meetings and had "an enviable record" of attendance at Parliament.

National's Epsom candidate Paul Goldsmith has managed to successfully lose the electorate to Seymour in the past two elections under a "deal" National has done to ensure Act remains in Parliament.

Asked if Seymour's antics could make it harder to maintain that losing record, Goldsmith said it was always more tricky than it looked. "But we are very focused on the party vote in Epsom and always have been."

He said it was up to Seymour to justify his actions.

"We've got freedom of expression in this country, David is responsible for whatever he decides to do. But I certainly can't watch it."

National leader Simon Bridges is yet to say whether the deal will be renewed for the next election.

The past two weeks were recess weeks when MPs do not need to be at Parliament – but Seymour's rehearsal time may be reduced with the return of Parliament this week.

He spent yesterday doing a verbal paso doble in Parliament with an old foe – Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, questioning him about the superannuation overpayments, the leak of which Peters has now taken legal action over.