Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood says he's been forced to ‘mellow' harsh comments through fear of being ‘cancelled'

The Irish Sun

4 days ago

STRICTLY Come Dancing's sharp-tongued judge Craig Revel Horwood has admitted he's "mellowed" his straight-talking critique to avoid being "cancelled."
It came just months after the show's longest-serving judge
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Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he's 'mellowed' his tone on the BBC show
Credit: BBC ONE
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He is the longest-serving judge on the BBC series
Credit: BBC
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Craig admits he now 'tags a positive' to any negative criticism towards a celeb
Credit: BBC/Guy Levy
At the time Craig,
60, blasted
, 64,
Anton Du Beke
, 58, and
, 43, and claimed he alone was behind the show's continuing success.
Now he has admitted he tries to "tag a positive" onto every negative comment about a celebrity's dance skills.
The pro said: "Back 21 years ago I could be more direct but now what I do is be honest and upfront with the contestants about their routine like I am with anything, I am honest, and with Strictly I am honest but then I will try tag a positive onto the end of it."
He added to
read more strictly
"As long as I am honest and not being harsh for effect and telling the truth about the dance then no one can really go against that.
"You will only be cancelled if you're being untoward in that way or doing it for effect or your own personal gain but that isn't my case and never will be."
Last year, Craig - who often attracts pantomime 'boos' from Strcitly's live audience - admitted that he had toned down his judging style as it would not be allowed today.
He said: 'I was really harsh 20 years ago. When I look back, I think, 'Ooh, that's cutting'.
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'It would now be classed as bullying, and then I'd be cancelled.'
Watch the moment Chris McCausland hits out at Craig Revel Horwood on Strictly telling him 'this is your opportunity to be nice'
Former Strictly show pro Ola Jordan recently
He was even
STRICTLY SCANDALS
His attitude change came after former Strictly pro Giovanni Pernice was
under investigation by the
BBC
over misconduct after
last year.
The same investigation also saw fellow
after allegations of "physical incidents" towards show partner
All your Strictly Come Dancing winners
Strictly first kicked off back in 2004, and over the years has crowned 21 winners.
Here is a full list of who has been lucky enough to
2004 -
2004 - Jill Halfpenny
2005 - Darren Gough
2006 - Mark Ramprakash
2007 - Alesha Dixon
2008 - Tom Chambers
2009 - Chris Hollins
2010 -
2011 -
2012 - Louis Smith
2013 - Abbey Clancy
2014 - Caroline Flack
2015 -
2016 - Ore Oduba
2017 -
2018 -
2019 - Kelvin Fletcher
2020 -
2021 -
2022 -
2023 -
2024 -
Giovanni
In October, the BBC released their findings into his conduct, upholding six of the 17 allegations of bullying made by Sherlock actress
Giovanni was cleared on the other 11, but the
CLAP BACK
Craig, a
Strictly
veteran of 21 years, was pulling no punches on the first night of his UK tour, Revelations: Songs Boys Don't Sing.
In a comment writing off original head judge Len Goodman and axed Arlene Phillips, acid-tongued Craig said: 'There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked.'
Playing up to his notoriety, he added: 'I get booed heavily but I enjoy playing the villain.'
He joked that his comments about
Craig laughed: 'We are going to be in the news. We need it as this is the beginning of the tour and we need to sell the tour.'
Craig, paid around £200,000 a year for Strictly, went on to rap the Beeb for making him change the name of his third autobiography.
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The 60-year-old has changed his approach for fear of being cancelled
Credit: PA
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He previously called out his fellow judges in his live show
Credit: PA
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He admitted he had been 'cutting' in Strictly's early days
Credit: Rex