Craig on strictly 2017
It won’t be long before craig is once more wielding his judge’s paddle on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing this autumn, but what does he make of incoming head judge shirley ballas?
‘i can’t wait to get back to Strictly,’ craig tells us. ‘shirley’s a fantastic replacement for len. i’ve met up with her and she’s great a laugh and a bundle of fun and, having been a latin american dance champion herself, she really knows her stuff.
‘she couldn’t be more perfect because she’s been there, done it, and got every t-shirt and medal, so she will protect the integrity of ballroom and latin. the audience will fall in love with her, she’ll be as tough as me, but probably not as botoxed or as grumpy!’
there are big changes among the show’s professional dance team too, as Joanne clifton (see this week’s TV Times News, p4), Natalie lowe and Oksana platero will be bowing out, and craig can’t wait to see their postStrictly careers blossom.
‘Of course i’m excited about seeing the new professionals, but it’s brilliant that people like Joanne are going off to do their own thing. Joanne’s a fantastic singer, dancer and actress, so why limit yourself to just dancing when you can become a star performer? i encourage all the dancers to use Strictly as a springboard, because you can’t dance forever. the world is their oyster.’