106 OK! VINTAGE OK! INTO HIS HOME CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD INVITES
With his razor sharp insults and eye rolls to the heavens, there’s no one this year’s Strictly Come Dancing hopefuls are more eager to please than Craig Revel Horwood. An original judge, the 54 year old has now held his seat on the panel for 15 years. But back in 2010, when Craig invited OK! into his London home, he had just judged his seventh series. Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan were reigning champions and Strictly was facing accusations of ageism after replacing judge Arlene Phillips. Craig hit back at the criticism at the time, explaining: ‘Anton Du Beke’s 42 and he’s still on it.’
Anton is now the only remaining professional from the show’s original line-up. Craig, though, is grateful to have swapped his dancing shoes for a judge’s paddle years ago! He told us: ‘You don’t want to be in the back row of the chorus when you’re 40, do you? That’s why I got out at 29.’
The star also revealed which celebrity he’d most love to appear on the show. He said: ‘Wouldn’t Sarah Ferguson be a dream come true? You need a little bit of royalty, or even ex-royalty.’
His acid tongue has seen Craig face his fair share of controversy over the years, but he admits that negative comments affected him a lot more ‘in the early days’. ‘I took it personally when Julian Clary [a contestant in series two] seemed to launch a gay attack on me, because I hadn’t learned to take that sort of abuse. The last thing I wanted was to have a “handbags at dawn” sort of thing, but that’s what it was. I had to try not to retaliate. I’m not as witty as him!’
Craig is currently in a relationship with Jonathan Myring, 32. But is he Mr Nasty when it comes to relationships? No, says the star. ‘I’m honest and to the point – there is no sense in lying to people – but I’m not vile. I’m not going to say: “Ooh, that looks nice,” when it doesn’t.’