Strictly must explore more communities.. it’s not just for ‘normal people’
Judge Craig says show could include top fashion designers...and prima ballerinas
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood wants the show to become even more inclusive by featuring ballerinas or people from the fashion world.
Asked if there is more ground to break, he replied: “Yeah! We haven’t explored a lot of the communities.”
The BBC hit has included many contestants with disabilities, including Paralympics champ Jonnie Peacock and Rose Ayling-Ellis, who is deaf.
Craig, 59, who joined the show at its start in 2004 and is now the longestserving judge, said: “Dance isn’t just for ‘normal people’, it’s for everybody – any human being has rhythm in their body.”
He went on to detail the new talent he would like to see.
“I’m just throwing ideas out here. Leading fashion designers.
“We haven’t had a prima ballerina like Sylvie Guillem. Yeah, we had Darcey Bussell on the judging panel but we haven’t had people like that.
“There’s lots of people we can still invest in. That’s the beauty of Strictly. It crosses all different communities.”
Speaking of Rose, who won in 2021 with partner Giovanni Pernici, Craig said: “She was absolutely fantastic. It just goes to prove what you can do if you put your mind to it and if you adapt. We have to adapt as judges, too.
“We can’t say to people who have lost a limb and are wearing a blade ‘Well, where were the heel leads, darling?’ because obviously they don’t have a heel, so we have to adapt.”
Moving on to the celebrity line-up for this autumn, he said judges only learn the names on the day they are released to the public.
But he agreed it would be “brilliant” if, as rumoured, comic Alan Carr were to be involved.
Meanwhile, Craig is hitting the road as the Wicked Witch of the West in a touring production of Wizard of Oz. The show kicked off in Woking, Surrey, this week and heads to Belfast at the end of the month. Craig was ready just in time after an operation to remove painful bunions and “flatten his toes”. Referring to his witch’s stage outfit, he said: “I’m in a lower heel this week. I intend to go up an inch a week! “I’m just waiting for my toes to solidify because I’ve got metal rods in two of them. “But it’s all going according to plan and my doctor is very pleased.” While getting over his op, Craig took the chance to record an album, to be released later in the year.
He said: “I thought ‘What can I do if I can’t walk? Well, I can sit in a studio and sing on a stool!’ So I recorded an album. Why not?
“It’s all your leading ladies’ tunes, which is something unusual because they’re songs boys don’t usually sing but they’re great songs.”
He admitted he had not done it to top the charts or make a fortune, adding: “I don’t think I’m going to be Lady Gaga or anything like that! I’ve done it because people have been requesting it from my one-man shows.
“Plus, my mum wanted a copy, so I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll do that’.”
Craig confirmed plans are still very much going forward for his wedding to fiance Jonathan Myring, 44, next year.
The big day was delayed because he wants to wed at home and the house had not been fully finished.
Craig said: “We’re getting the garden done as we speak so we can have a big bash there.”
■ Craig is in Wizard of Oz until the end of July, with the next dates in Belfast from May 21 to 26. For tickets, visit wizardofozmusical.com