Craig Revel Horwood reveals request from Ann Widdecombe days before her death

Craig Revel Horwood has revealed his interaction with Ann Widdecombe just days before she died.

The 78-year-old politician and media personality was pronounced dead at her home on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9, with a murder investigation launched soon after due to ‘serious injuries’ she had sustained.

Prosecutors later said she had been hit 21 times with a hammer while she ate lunch, describing the attack as a ‘ferocity of violence’.

Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, has since been charged with her murder after allegedly entering her bungalow, striking her with the tool, and then taking her wallet.

Remanded in custody, Kerry will appear at the Old Bailey on October 9.

In the aftermath of Widdecombe’s death, many former colleagues and co-stars spoke out in tribute, including Strictly Come Dancing stars.

Widdecombe famously appeared on the BBC dance show in 2010. Partnered with Anton Du Beke, she provided some of its most memorable and comical moments to this day, despite her low scores.

In a new interview, judge Horwood, 61, recalled a request from the former contestant less than a week before she was killed.

‘She wanted me to be a guest speaker for one of her charities because she couldn’t do it that particular night,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

Revealing her final message, he added: ‘I said, “Of course I will, my darling.”

‘The last email she wrote to me, she just wrote, “Yippee, Yippee, YIPPEE!!”‘

‘And then six days later, she was bludgeoned to death,’ he continued, calling it ‘disgusting and terrifying how that could happen to someone’.

He argued that ‘no matter what you think about someone politically, she was a human being’, calling her a ‘really lovely person privately’.

Widdecombe notoriously divided public opinion with her political stances and Conservative views, having opposed legislation to advance LGBTQ+ rights, had a staunchly anti-abortion record, and rejected modern feminism.

‘We all have public and private personas,’ added Strictly’s resident Mr Nasty, who often catches heat for his ridiculing of celebs and pantomime villain-esque delivery of feedback.

After Widdecombe’s death, Horwood wrote of Widdecombe that he ‘grew to admire and care for her enormously’, describing her as ‘warm, wickedly funny, [and] deeply intelligent’.

Du Beke called her death the ‘saddest news’, saying he had ‘the most brilliant time’ dancing with her and she ‘became a real friend’.

He added in an Instagram tribute: ‘She was fun, she was upbeat, she was positive, she was supportive, she was game – she wanted to enter into the spirit of the whole thing and we had an incredible time together. 

‘On behalf of myself and the whole @bbcstrictly family, we are devastated by the news and our thoughts go out to her nearest and dearest and her whole family. 

‘We will all remember her fondly and miss her.’

It later emerged that he and Horwood, the longest-serving and only original judge, asked for her to be honoured in the new series, which launches on September 19.

A source told The Sun that the two were ‘keen to flag the idea to producers, who agreed viewers would love to revisit Ann’s special moments’.

‘Bosses are likely to air a montage,’ they added.

Widdecombe’s funeral was held on August 12 at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, where she worshipped and had called her ‘safe haven’.

Around 100 family members attended, with a public memorial arranged for later this year.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage did not attend the funeral to avoid detracting attention from the family ceremony but is expected to attend the public service. Widdecombe joined his newly formed Brexit Party in 2019.

Her political collaboration with Farage continued when she served alongside him as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South West England region.

She later formally joined Reform UK as its immigration and justice spokesperson, a role she held until her death.

Widdecombe also continued her public-facing work in the media until her death and had been due to appear as a guest, via video call, on Channel 5‘s Matt Allwright show at 1pm on the day she died, having already appeared on TalkTV that morning.

However, she did not join the Zoom call and stopped responding to the producer’s WhatsApp messages when he asked if she was OK, sparking concern.

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