‘Dev had to go and the public knows nothing’
Strictly Craig’s anger at outcry
CRAIG Revel Horwood turned his acid tongue on Strictly Come Dancing viewers over the Dev Griffin row, hitting back at protests and saying those who criticise had no idea.
The public were left stunned when the Radio 1 presenter and partner Dianne Buswell were axed on Sunday night, sparking a storm of controversy.
But defiant Craig, 54, hit back: “They can kick off as much as they like.
“How much do they know about the cha cha cha? Nothing, darling.”
Dev, 34, was the third casualty on the show and admitted he was “gutted” to be sent home so early after facing the dance-off against Viscountess Emma Weymouth, 33, and pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec, 29.
Farce
And former dancer James Jordan led the cries of derision claiming “the judges didn’t do their jobs” adding: “I was irritated by the judges. It was a bit of a farce.”
But Craig claimed if the former dancing professional had been in his shoes he would have done the same. Speaking at the Best Heroes Awards in London, he added: “James Jordan is just out for publicity and if he was on the judging panel… I’m telling you, looking at it you have to judge on what you see.
“Was Dev the right person to go on the night? Yes. Would he have been better in the future? Yes. Was he better in the past? Yes. He just got a dance he wasn’t particularly good at and he made a mistake. “Dev was the worst dancer on the night but if he’d done his other routines then he may have been successful.”
Craig, who has been a judge on the BBC One show since its launch in 2004, also said the contestants should take his caustic comments on board because he’s trying to help them.
He added: “I am going to help them in the end. I critique them to help people. If you listen to my comments they are quite sound and if they go away and listen to them they might get better.
“The problem is most people can’t take criticism. You are always going to get people who can’t, especially people that have never danced before.
“They have only ever been praised for their work and that’s why they are celebrities and famous, because they can do something they are good at. So when you are criticised it hurts more because you’re not used to it.”
Earlier this week Craig’s fellow judge Shirley Ballas blamed the viewers for fan favourite Dev going home.
The 59-year-old said: “People have got to get out there and vote.
“We do our job but, as you can see, there were many people who were saved with lower scores.”