A Strictly Come Dancing judge has admitted his past comments were ‘cutting and bullying’ (Picture: BBC/ Guy Levy)
Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has admitted his past style of judging was ‘cutting and bullying’.
The 59-year-old has appeared as a judge on the long-running BBC series since its premiere in 2004.
But throughout his time on the show Craig has developed a reputation for his harsh comments and often faces heckling from the studio audience for his feedback.
He’s also given a score of 1 more time than anyone else on the panel.
However he’s now spoken about making a conscious decision to dish out kinder comments to celebrities and their professional dance partners.
‘I have changed my style of judging. I was really harsh 20 years ago. When I look back, I think, “Ooh, that’s cutting”. It would now be classed as bullying, and then I’d be cancelled,’ he said.
Craig Revel Horwood has appeared on the BBC series since it started in 2004 (Picture: BBC)
Speaking about not taking such a hard-line approach anymore, Craig explained his thinking.
‘It’s not fear of being cancelled. It’s just, how can I reach out to them and help them to improve, rather than just saying, “This is wrong, that’s wrong”. I’m thinking more like a teacher than a judge,’ he continued when speaking to the Radio Times.
‘If the standard is low, I really haven’t got anything to say except what’s wrong with it. But this series there’s been an awful lot that’s right with everything.’
Speaking about the current crop of contestants, Craig said they were ‘much more talented now than they used to be’.
However he’s now changed his approach to feedback (Picture: BBC)
‘Back then, we had snooker players and politicians, and it was pretty tough on people who couldn’t dance. I was very direct. I do still say what’s wrong, but you can wrap the truth in a nice way,’ he added.
However Craig did say he had no qualms being harsh should it be required, saying he is ‘not there’ for the dancers emotions and they needed to ‘learn and respect my opinion’.
Over the years Craig has faced significant trolling on social media and has said he’s kept ‘all these comments and so-called death threats’, joking he was ready to shame them in a book one day,
The judge said he viewed it ‘all as a cartoon’ and took aim at the trolls, who he said ‘have five followers, no dance knowledge and can’t string a sentence together’.
Craig has previously told celebrities they were like a ‘dancing hippo’ and a ‘stork struck by lightning’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)
Over the years some of Craig’s most brutal quips have included telling Ann Widdecombe in 2010 that she was a ‘dancing hippo’.
Five years later he told Jeremy Vine he danced ‘like a stork that had been struck by lightning’ and former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that she ‘limped about like you were lost at a party somewhere drunk’.
Earlier this year, in the midst of the abuse allegations clouding the series, Craig said he hoped the ‘standards didn’t drop this year’ and pro dancers would still be willing to criticise their partners.
‘You just have to be able to take some criticism. Otherwise, we’re living in a world where no one is criticised, and it will become watered down and vanilla, where no one’s trying,’ he said when speaking to The Sun.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 7.05pm on BBC One.
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