Why Craig is Strictly single now

FAMED for his acerbic put-downs and lowscore judging which dampens the enthusiasm of the hapless contestants in TV’S Strictly Come Dancing, Craig Revel Horwood will perhaps be forgiven if he becomes even more cruel in his judgments of samba-stamping celebrities in future.

For Craig, 47, has been hiding the heartache of a split from his long-term partner, Harley Street pharmacist Grant Macpherson, 32, after nearly five years together.

The couple met through a dating website in 2007 and had been living together at Revel Horwood’s home in Camden, North London.

But they have, Craig tells me, parted following a mutual decision that their relationship wasn’t working out due to their very different lives.

Australian Revel Horwood, 47, a former professional drag queen and who was once married to Welsh-born Jane Hallwood, says he is ‘sad’ about the end of the affair and is now adapting to a single life.

Craig, who grew up in Melbourne, says: ‘ We split in October but I have kept it quiet so we can get over it. It has been sad, but you have to move on. We just grew apart and things hadn’t been as easy as they were in the beginning for a long while.

‘Our worlds are very different and we both knew it wasn’t working. We said it had to be over at the same time. In fact, he beat me to it by a millisecond!’

However Revel Horwood, who works on stage as a director and choreographer away from his TV projects, says it has helped him focus on his latest such role, the BBC2’S forthcoming show Maestro At The Opera, in which he competes to conduct an orchestra at the Royal Opera House.

He adds: ‘The good news is that I have found that I am fine by myself and it has helped me really concentrate on this series, which has been the most amazing experience.’

The 6ft 2in Revel Horwood — a close friend of Strictly star Ann Widdecombe — has said he married to convince himself he wasn’t gay. He also pointed out that his four-year marriage lasted a lot longer than many do between heterosexual couples.