Craig Revel Horwood launches acid-tongued attack on Strictly Come Dancing judges

judge has set the cat among the pigeons following his latest scathing attack on his fellow judges. The TV star, 60, who is the only original judge on the ballroom dancing show, has sensationally claimed that he is the only one of any importance on the judging panel as he "created it."

Craig sits among judges , 64, Anton Du Beke, 58, and , 43, also claimed the show's continued success was purely down to him.

Craig adopted the role of Mr Nasty since the show first aired back in 2004 and by his own admission during a recent interview he enjoys playing the villain.

The TV judge who prides himself on being harsh with his comments to the professional dancers and their celebrity contestants, said: "There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked."

He added in his interview with : "I get booed heavily but I enjoy playing the villain."

Craig has been on the BBC show for 21 years but speaking ahead of the first night of his tour Revelations: Songs Boys Don’t Sing, he quipped: "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, who was being paid a reported £200,000 a year for appearing on the show once blasted the broadcaster for making him change the title of his third autobiography.

The original title was Strictly Confidential but as it used the word Strictly, he was forced to replace it to Strictest Confidence instead.

The TV star is known for his caustic put downs when it comes to his analysis of the contestant's dance routines but during a book tour in 2018, he turned his attention on Strictly host Tess Daly.

At the time he claimed she asked "dull questions."

He then poked fun at lead judge Shirley Balls for showing too much cleavage. He said: "I am not joking. Her boobs were . . . hanging out. It was not very, erm, Strictly."

However, last year he confessed that he had calmed down is harsh critique as it go against the new policies of the BBC.

He admitted: "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."

Ahead of the new series of the show, it looks as though pro dancers including Gorka Márquez, 34, Nadiya Bychkova, 35, and Johannes Radebe, 37, could face being replaced to make room for new faces.

Gorka has already expressed his dislike of being away from his fiancé and former contestant , and their two children.

Meanwhile Johannes has other projects taking up a lot of his time as he has been on tour as the lead in the musical Kinky Boots.

A TV insider told the publication: "There could be a huge shake up. Gorka wants to spend more time with his family and really dislikes being away from his two young children. He’s also had a series of injuries in recent years."

They added: "Johannes has become a huge breakout star in his own right and has received some huge, lucrative work offers. Basically, that means he might not have time for Strictly any more because it just doesn’t make financial sense."

According to the source a review of the professional dancers occurs every year to make sure the line-up is fresh and interesting in order to maintain competitive ratings.

But as always, a decision over the professional dancer for the upcoming series is yet to be announced. A BBC spokesman said: "We will announce the pros for 2025 in due course."

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