It’s been 'blown out of proportion' admits Strictly judge on bulling scandal

During his touring show two years ago fans would often approach Craig Revel Horwood to ask whether he had recorded any of the songs he had just sung on stage. “An album was on the list of things I wanted to do before I die,” he reveals. “So I decided to go for it.”

He has settled on a mix of poignant and power ballads traditionally sung by women. Hence the title of his first solo record, Revelations: Songs Boys Don’t Sing, released on October 1F8.

The eclectic mix of songs includes Don’t Rain On My Parade from the musical Funny Girl, On My Own from Les Miserables, This Is My Life which was made famous by Shirley Bassey and As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver!

It also includes the evergreen Memory from Cats, which holds a special place for Craig as he played Munkustrap in the first production. “I’m emotionally connected to that song,” he admits.

The 59-year-old’s CV also includes stints in the chorus lines of Miss Saigon and Crazy For You back in the early 1990s.

Years later he made an album with singer Rietta Austin. A single It’s Christmas, Merry Christmas! was released in 2021.

Along with Hayley Sanderson, a regular singer with Dave Arch’s band on Strictly, he was given invaluable lessons on how to put across a song on record as opposed to live on stage. Next year, from April 4 in Eastleigh through to June 28 in Dunfermline, Craig will undertake a 53-date tour when he’ll sing tracks from the album as well as explaining to his audience why certain individual numbers mean so much to him.

Asked if this will stretch his stamina, he says: “I’m used to doing eight shows a week in musicals like Annie. The voice is a muscle, of course, so the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”

He’s also a stalwart of pantos, performing a dozen times a week. This Christmas, he’ll be giving the good folk of Milton Keynes his Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

“It will be quite a novelty playing a man,” he jokes. “I’ve hung up my heels and the breasts have gone back in the box.”

Craig is also the longest-serving judge on Strictly, having delivered his often barbed critiques from the first season in 2004. And while he may be cast as the show’s pantomime villain, in reality he’s more like a pussy cat.

“When we first started Strictly, we were all interviewed, and then characters were invented for various judges. This person will be funny: Bruno. This person will be sensible: Len Goodman. At one point, I’d said something was ‘dull, dull, dull’ and so my persona was born.”

Asked to describe his work on Strictly, he says: “It’s my Saturday job.”

This is why, he adds, it’s tough to comment on whether a particular professional either verbally or physically abused their celebrity partner, as has been widely reported.

“I’m never there during the week so I wouldn’t know. My only responsibility is to comment on the 90 seconds of dance that’s been performed.

“All I will say is that different teachers have different methods. My Russian teacher would hit us with a cane if we weren’t lifting our legs properly. You couldn’t get away with that these days.”

Pressed for his opinion on the alleged bullying, he says: “Personally, I think it’s been blown out of all proportion. I mean, there are wars going on, darling. Priorities, please.”

But he admits he is looking forward to the findings from the BBC investigation, just to clarify things. Whatever the verdict, the BBC has already said it plans to place a chaperone in each rehearsal room, which Craig thinks is a good idea: “Absolutely – that way everybody is protected.”

And he insists he is not worried about the show’s future: “Not at all. Too many people love it. It’s a hugely popular format seen in 63 countries. And there’s a good reason for that.”

While looking forward to the new series, which begins in a fortnight, he is not expecting to be allowed to sing a track from his album on air.

“If you’re working on a BBC show, you’re not allowed to self-promote a product. On the other hand, maybe in musicals week I might be given permission to sing.”

Craig and fiance Jonathan Myring have postponed their wedding until 2027 so the garden at their home in Rutland Water will look its best.

He is hoping to be able to sing then: “I was thinking of it, yes. As a matter of fact, it could well be a duet because Jonathan is taking operatic singing lessons at the moment.”

Craig has also hired Alexandra Burke to sing at the wedding, her fee donated to charity.

Jonathan, 39, is currently in his second year of training as a paramedic. Craig says the age difference never gives him pause for thought.

“Never. We don’t think about it. But, if it comes to it, he can push me down the aisle. And, looking ahead, I’ll be assured of a carer, if that should prove necessary.”

As if his schedule was not crowded enough, Craig’s also directing a new show, Now That’s What I Call A Musical. It opens in Aylesbury on September 6 before criss-crossing the UK and Ireland before finishing in Wimbledon next April.

Written by comedian Pippa Evans and starring Nina Wadia, the 1980s story featuring hit tunes from that decade sung variously by Sinitta, Sonia and Carol Decker from T’Pau, with Jay Osmond guest starring in Bradford.

“I describe it as a jukebox musical,” says Craig, “with a heart”. Away from this packed calendar, Craig still finds time to champion his favourite charity, the Royal Osteoporosis Society. His mother, Beverley, has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis since her 30s and he is a huge supporter of the Sunday Express Better Bones campaign.

This calls for all osteoporosis sufferers to have access to specialist fracture clinics for better diagnosis and treatment of the debilitating bone condition, which the Government has pledged to achieve by 2030.

Craig says: “Dr Miriam Stoppard and I got involved with the charity years ago. Then, as President of the Society, Queen Camilla gave us her support because her late mother suffered from osteoporosis.

“It’s important for people, and particularly children, to understand about better bone health.

“We’ve done tours of schools spreading the word. I always tell the kids that, if they don’t like sport, they can always dance – children love to dance – and strengthen their bones in the process.The facts speak for themselves. Up to 50 per cent of women will develop osteoporosis later in life. Prevention is, of course, better than cure.”

He and Camilla get on well, he says. “She loves dancing, loves Strictly.”

Given this royal connection, any chance of an edition of the show being broadcast from Buckingham Palace? “Oh, I’d love that. There was talk of it a couple of years ago, in the end, it came to nothing. But I haven’t given up hope. It could still happen. Wouldn’t that be fabulous?”

● Tour details: craigrevelhorwood.com