‘ I just want the investigation to be over so I can find out myself the truth …’
During an interview with Craig Revel Horwood about his new 80s musical NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, hosts Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle asked the Strictly Come Dancing judge about the current reports surrounding the series on Friday’s This Morning.
Craig said, “I knew nothing, the judges are very separate. When the story erupted and came out in the press, I was shocked, along with all the other judges. And I couldn’t quite believe it because we meet the pros and we meet the celebs on occasion throughout the show, but we’re very separate, we’re on level two, and for obvious reasons we shouldn’t be talking to them or geering them up before the show as judges, so we take that part of it seriously.
He added, “We have nothing to do whatsoever with their training, or how they get there to that point on a Saturday night. We don’t even see the camera rehearsals on the Fridays, we literally come in on a Saturday, judge what we see and then it’s done. I just want the investigation to be over so I can find out myself the truth because I have nothing really to say. It’s really hard to pass judgement or comment on ‘he said this, she said that’… it’s really difficult and it has erupted. I’m just blown away by the whole situation. Completely and utterly shocked by the whole situation.”
When asked if the BBC are taking the necessary steps to investigate this properly, Craig replied, “Yes, well I hope so. I really hope so for them and their sake and mine of course, and the future of Strictly Come Dancing. It is a serious, serious issue and I think it has to be addressed. Putting chaperones in is a really great idea, we have a psychologist, incase the rehearsals are getting too much for you and they have someone to go to, and having a chaperone in the room is having that one extra eye.”
Reflecting on the dancing world and the intense training, Craig said, “[Dancers] are like an Olympian. You don’t become an Olympian without someone telling you what’s wrong with your work. But you have to remember that Strictly is not the Olympics – it’s a bunch of celebrities, learning to dance from scratch, by amazing pros who have been in the business since they were three, and trained to within an inch of their lives. So you’re putting two very different powerhouses together.”
On his dancing career 45 years ago, Craig admitted, “When I started training I had a Russian ballet teacher who used to hit us with canes – obviously that would not be allowed now – but she used to get up and whack the under of our hamstrings to make sure we weren’t lifting from the thigh, because that’s really important in dance. Obviously, nowadays, even in schools, teaching has changed. I remember in 1973 being caned for not being able to tell the time – but life has developed and changed in the teaching world everywhere. I just can’t wait for the investigation to be done so we can get on and start enjoying a new series.”
He added, “[Would I have been who I am today without hard training?] Probably not. But I was never abused. And I don’t condone that in any way, shape or form. If that is a problem then it should be eradicated immediately. But I certainly know that tough love was good for me because it made me fight and made me want it even more.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player
