Craig Revel Horwood: 'I'll do Strictly into my 80s - unless I'm cancelled first'

Strictly's ain panto villain Craig Revel Horwood talks to Mirror astir his hard-fought way to stardom, the perils of fame, his delayed wedding plans and turning 60

He’s the acid-tongued justice celebrities dread aft suffering an awkward tumble connected the Strictly creation floor. Poised to springiness his damning verdict, Craig Revel Horwood flattens immoderate semblance of a grin arsenic helium delivers a slayer blow, pausing arsenic the boos lavation implicit him.

And it’s wide that Craig perfectly adores the pseudo-nasty, panto villain relation he’s held onto for the past 2 decades. It’s the relation helium was calved to play.

“No, I haven’t changed - I person softened up a spot but I accidental the dancing has gotten a batch better,” helium tells the Mirror, earlier bluntly adding: “When we archetypal started 20 years ago, of people the dancing wasn’t peculiarly bully astatine all.”

Craig was conscionable 39 years aged erstwhile helium archetypal landed a spot astatine the judging sheet adjacent to the precocious Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli. He’s the lone 1 retired of the 4 inactive sitting determination present and helium won’t beryllium leaving anytime soon - arsenic agelong arsenic helium isn’t cancelled.

“I person nary volition of quitting due to the fact that it’s a fantastic Saturday occupation that I mean to bash into my 80s, arsenic agelong arsenic I’m inactive compos mentis, darling!” Craig tells us. “And if I haven’t been cancelled earlier then! But what would I bash if I weren’t doing it? Remain a manager - I emotion directing musicals, I would emotion to nonstop TV and film. I person choreographed movies similar Paddington 2, for instance, which I truly loved.I’m not conscionable going to discontinue and conscionable weed the garden.”

On the cusp of his 60th birthday, Craig is reflecting connected his passionateness for euphony and creation by releasing a caller medium of songs that are idiosyncratic to him and weave a communicative of his hard-fought way to occurrence and Strictly stardom and fame.

“They’re each idiosyncratic to me,” helium says. “The archetypal amusement that my mum took maine to erstwhile I was 8 successful Sydney and it near an indelible content connected maine of philharmonic theatre. I thought it was astonishing and I didn’t cognize what philharmonic theatre was astatine the time. We went to spot Jesus Christ Superstar, which was beauteous full-on stone and dense pb guitar and each of that stuff, it was modern backmost past successful 1973 and it was unrecorded connected stage.”

Born successful the tiny Australian municipality of Ballarat, Craig moved to Melbourne to statesman his creation vocation and became a cablegram pusher and trainee cameraman astatine Channel 6 - a section TV station. It was during this clip helium saw Marcia Hines - the archetypal achromatic pistillate to play Mary Magdalene - who helium had watched each those years earlier connected stage. “I retrieve gathering her, my mum ironed her outfit erstwhile for a show,” helium recalls. “For me, she was a huge, immense prima - and past I conscionable had to beryllium successful the manufacture successful immoderate signifier oregon signifier successful 1974.”

He near Australia for Paris astatine 23 years old, joining the Lido Du Paris arsenic a dancer successful amusement Panache, going connected to unafraid a relation arsenic a rule vocalist successful Formidable astatine the Moulin Rouge. A twelvemonth later, helium moved to the UK to articulation the circuit of Cats.

Yet it was pugnacious cracking his large break. “I auditioned astir 20 times for Les Mis and got down to the past 2 for 1 of the parts and ne'er got it - they gave maine Miss Saigon instead,” helium says. He reckons the manufacture has go tougher successful caller years.

“I deliberation it’s got a batch much hard due to the fact that there’s a batch much radical wanting to bash it and there’s a batch much theatre schools retired there,” helium explains. ”And with the advent of things similar The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, each of those shows, radical deliberation that they tin go an overnight occurrence truly rapidly from going connected a TV programme. But there’s downfalls to that arsenic good - overnight stardom is not an casual thing. I’ve worked up the ranks similar astir radical bash - commencement retired singing and dancing and acting, grooming and past you anticipation aft 3 years of grooming you mightiness get an audition and you mightiness get successful. But determination are downfalls arsenic good - you’re not going to get each azygous job. As soon arsenic you locomotion done the door, you’re being judged for however gangly you are and whether you’re going to suit that portion oregon that ensemble.

“You ne'er truly cognize erstwhile you’re up for a occupation what you’re going to get, you ne'er truly cognize what is going to happen. But you person to beryllium capable to cod yourself. If you bash autumn from grace, you request to beryllium capable to prime yourself up, particulate yourself disconnected and get connected with it. My proposal to radical present is don’t expect everything from the manufacture - you person to make it and you person to beryllium successful the close spot astatine the close time.”

Craig has been precise unfastened astir his ain struggles successful the manufacture astatine a young age. He suffered with an eating upset for much than 25 years arsenic helium grappled with the unit of staying slim for auditions and shows. “It tin pb to demolition if you’re not looked after,” helium says. “I mean, if you look astatine it successful the lawsuit with Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and Julie Garland! We tin spell backmost successful clip wherever the unit was truthful overmuch and truthful large with the fame.”

Alongside his galore vocation achievements - from his Olivier nominations and penning 3 autobiographies to dancing with Queen Camilla - he’s besides recovered emotion with horticulturist Jonathan Myring, who is 22 years his junior. Jonathan projected successful 2020 portion they sipped connected champagne successful a brackish bath during a travel to a nationalist park.

However, their wedding has been hampered by delays. “After Covid we could not get anything! Now it keeps being enactment disconnected due to the fact that of drainage and things with the house. It sounds ridiculous but we privation to get joined successful the garden. Councils, highways - I don’t cognize wherefore it takes truthful agelong successful this state to get thing done. That’s 1 happening that’s going to hap successful the adjacent 10 years and that’s present pencilled successful for the 20th August 2027. Which isn’t that agelong if you deliberation astir it due to the fact that I’m moving each of adjacent year.

“We’re going to person 2 weddings - 1 astatine the location and the different with household astatine a beauteous religion connected Rutland Water, which we privation to use.It volition beryllium fabulous and I can’t wait.”

His packed docket this twelvemonth - which besides includes a 53-date UK circuit - means that helium won’t adjacent beryllium capable to observe his milestone day successful January. “I can’t adjacent observe my 60th truthful I’m going to person a day enactment successful July alternatively of January due to the fact that I’m successful panto doing 2 shows a day,” helium says. “I won’t get the time disconnected astatine each truthful I don’t privation to observe that due to the fact that I won’t person the clip to bash that.”

Craig organises his beingness 3 years successful advance, truthful he’s hoping he’ll person the clip to implicit everything helium wants to implicit the adjacent 10 years. “I’d similar to sojourn Japan, due to the fact that I’ve ne'er been, and I privation to spell erstwhile the blossoms are out,” helium says. “There’s a lot! I’ve ne'er been to India! I request to spell to these places. People accidental you tin spell erstwhile you discontinue but I don’t mean to retire. I mean connected hanging up my resistance shoes, heels, due to the fact that they’ll ruin my feet. I’m conscionable going to little the bottommost each year.”

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Craig’s medium ‘Revelations: Songs Boys Don’t Sing’ and ‘This Is My Life’ are disposable to pre-order/stream present from https://slinky.to/ThisIsMyLife