I thought Strictly would be end of my career – Craig
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has said he thought the show would be a disaster when it first aired in 2004.
Revel Horwood was part of the original line-up of judges, alongside Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Arlene Phillips, but thought it would not last long. He told a BBC Radio 5 live documentary: “Show one, series one, it was May of 2004. I recall it well. There were no fanfares, we were creating the show from the beginning. I said, ‘It’s a terrible idea. It’ll be car-crash television.’
“I said, ‘It’ll be the end of my career.’ And I really thought it would be off in three weeks. Len and I, after the first show, said, ‘That was absolutely terrible. No one’s going to think that’s a good idea. How can it possibly be a good idea getting a celebrity to try and learn in one month what it’s taken most dancers 10 to 15 years?”’
Revel Horwood added that the large budget that comes with being the biggest entertainment show on television was not always so lavish.
He said: “Way back then, we had a very low budget, no one knew what we were doing.”
Revel Horwood added. “After about two weeks, three weeks, the popularity was just growing and growing. It’s just insane, actually. It’s been sold on to over 56 countries worldwide. What other BBC show’s ever done that?”
Puttin’ On The Glitz: The Strictly Story is on Radio 5 Live tonight at 8pm